What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets dropped the opener of their series with the O’s by the score of 2-1 (Box)
RHP Jonah Tong started for the Mets and was excellent, going six innings without allowing an earned run. The youngster allowed just four hits and a walk while striking out six
A.J. Ewing homered in the 4th inning for the Mets only run—a blow that made him the 11th Met to reach double digits in longballs, setting a new club record
The Mets left nine men on base including the bases loaded in the 2nd inning
Francisco Lindor was named the Mets nominee for the Roberto Clemente award
Infielder Mitch Voit was named the Mets’ Player Development Player of the Year
Play of the Game 🙁
On a night that was basically a three-hour homecoming party for beloved former Met Pete Alonso, it was the guy behind him in the Orioles lineup that delivered the big blow in this one.
Locked in a 1-1 stalemate, Alonso had just struck out for the 2nd out in the top of the 8th inning. Immediately afterwards, though, Gunnar Henderson connected on a long home run off of right-hander Dedniel Núñez that was ultimately the difference in the series opener.
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
In the latest edition of the Just Mets Podcast, Andrew offers his insight on the Mets series loss to the Yankees and has a fun back-and-forth with Shawn (with a W) from Knicks Film School about Juan Soto.
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Down on the Farm 🌾
All Mets minor league affiliates were off on Monday
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (69-81) vs. Orioles (73-78)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: LHP Sean Manaea (5-7, 4.79 ERA) vs. RHP Shane Baz (6-15, 4.05 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Pete Alonso… ✍️
Well, that was weird, huh?
And I have to admit, it sucked.
Whenever it happened, Pete Alonso’s first return to Citi Field as a visitor was always going to generate a myriad of emotions. But coming here, at the tail end of a disastrous campaign in Queens, does nothing but extenuate the heinous mistake this front office made this past winter.
Alonso has been everything the Orioles could have wanted and more.
But nothing he’s doing down in Charm City should come as a surprise. He’s posting up day in and day out, mashing baseballs, and providing leadership both on and off the field. Early Monday morning, he was named Baltimore’s nominee for the esteemed Roberto Clemente award. Sure, maybe the Orioles aren’t as good as expected, but he has been Pete Alonso, and probably will be Pete Alonso for at least another couple of years.
The atmosphere in the crowd last night was as electric as it’s been all season. Alonso’s return to Queens was reminiscent of Mike Piazza first coming back as a member of the Padres, but still felt a little different.
Piazza obviously became the face of this franchise and one of the most influential players in this organization’s history. But initially, he came here as a hired gun.
Alonso was our guy from day one. A homegrown, immediate superstar who captivated the hearts of this fan base from the jump. A perfectly imperfect Met who loved this team and this city and represented both like he was born to be here.
Monday night wasn’t even necessarily about the result of the game. Yes, there was a Mets and Orioles contest going on that was incredibly meaningful to Baltimore. But inside the stadium, this was nothing more than a celebration of a generation of Mets fans’ favorite player.
And while it was fun to see Pete, and even fun to see him destroy a long foul ball that had plenty of home run distance, it still sucked.
It sucked to see our guy on our field wearing the wrong jersey. Running into the third-base dugout between innings. This just wasn’t the way this story was supposed to end. And it’s a wound that isn’t going to heal anytime soon.
Around the League 🚩
The Dodgers became the 3rd team to bunch their ticket to the postseason with a 4-1 road win in Cincinnati. It will be the 14th consecutive October appearance for LA
Miguel Vargas had two hits including a home run in the White Sox 7-3 win over the Guardians—a victory that had enormous ramifications on the AL Central race
NL MVP front runner Pete Crow-Armstrong connected on his 42nd home run in the Cubs 7-3 victory over the Braves
Max Clark doubled and drove in a pair in Detroit’s 6-5 win north of the border in Toronto