Monday marked the return of Pete Alonso to Flushing and Citi Field in New York. Alonso was cheered during batting practice as well as each of his four at-bats during the game. A two minute tribute video to Alonso was played prior to the game. Even though he went 0 for 3 with a walk and a strikeout, Alonso certainly felt the love from the fans.
In a tightly contested game, the Baltimore Orioles kept their playoff hopes on life support with a 2-1 win over the New York Mets (69-81).
Both starters, Baltimore’s Brandon Young and New York’s Jonah Tong, kept the game tight. Young allowed a run on 5 hits, walked 5 and struck out 6 over 4.0 innings. The lone run came on an A.J. Ewing homerun in the fourth inning. Young managed to escape a two-out bases loaded situation in the second inning as well as runners in scoring position in both the third and fifth innings. On the opposite side, Tong allowed an unearned run on 4 hits, walked 1 and struck out 6 over 6.0 innings. It was a passed ball by Francisco Alvarez on a Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1 for 4, 2B) strikeout that allowed Jackson Holliday (2 for 4) to advance to second base and subsequently score on a Heston Kjerstad (2 for 4) RBI-double.
The Baltimore bullpen allowed just a single hit over the final 4.0 innings. Josh Walker struck out 1 over 1.2 innings, Yennier Cano recorded the final out of the seventh inning, Grant Wolfram allowed a hit and struck out 1 in the eighth and Rico Garcia pitched a clean ninth.
The bullpen’s efficiency allowed Gunnar Henderson (1 for 4) to play hero with his eighth inning homerun to right center field that came with two outs. The homerun, Henderson’s 23rd of the season, held up as the winning run, thanks to the bullpen, and gave the win to Cano (3-3). Garcia earned his 9th save of the season for his effort.
The Orioles were able to gain a game on the Cleveland Guardians (76-75) thanks to their 7-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
2026 Record: 73-78
Next Game: Tues. 9/15 @ 7:10 pm @ New York Mets
