NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso’s first Yankee Stadium swing with the Baltimore resembled many of the Polar Bear's swats during seven seasons for the New York Mets.
Alonso hit a tying homer, drew a pair of walks and scored both runs in Friday night's 7-2 loss to the Yankees,
"It’s awesome to kind of come in wearing new colors and it’s like all right instead of like a crosstown rival, now we’re a divisional rival," said Alonso, who left the Mets in December for a $155 million, five-year deal with Baltimore.
Alonso tied the score 1-1 in the second inning with a drive off Will Warren into the right field second deck. He homered for the second time in four games and is hitting .203 with five homers and 14 RBIs for his new team.
“He’s showing flashes of the Pete Alonso we all know and love,” Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said before the game. “To me, it’s probably just getting used to the change of scenery, but also getting into the flow of the season as well.”
Alonso played his 20th game at Yankee Stadium and hit his eighth homer at the ballpark.
“You go down memory lane. There's a lot of things you think about just being here for so long,” Alonso said. “My first taste of professional baseball was playing for the (Brooklyn) Cyclones and then kind of working my way up from there.”
Alonso was not offered a contract by the Mets, who also allowed Edwin Díaz to leave and traded Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil after finishing 83-79 and missing the playoffs by one game.
“Both the Orioles as an organization and myself, I feel like we align and fit perfectly,” Alonso said. “When you have something good, you focus on it.”
Alonso said he never heard from Mets owner Steve Cohen or president of baseball operations David Stearns before signing with Baltimore.
“For me, having that respect from the guys that I was with every day, the guys that I was going to battle with so to speak, from the manager to the players, having that respect is obviously nice,” Alonso said. “But there’s no final conversation from a brass or ownership standpoint.”
A homegrown Met, Alonso became a Citi Field fan favorite. He was voted 2019 NL Rookie of the Year after hitting .260 with a major league-high and rookie record 53 homers along with 120 RBIs.
New York replaced him with Jorge Polanco, agreeing to a $40 million, two-year contract. Polanco has played two games at first base for the Mets and is on the injured list with a bruised right wrist. New York has used five first baseman and began Friday a MLB-worst 10-21.
“On paper, that’s not good,” Alonso said. “But I remember in 2024 things were very bleak and whatever from an outside perspective. Baseball is a long season. It’s a marathon. And you look back at the 2024 Mets, that could be a perfect example of yeah, it’s bad, but there’s five months left in the season. There’s always time.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Baltimore Orioles' Pete Alonso runs the bases after hitting a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees Friday, May 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Baltimore Orioles' Pete Alonso hits a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees Friday, May 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
MIAMI (AP) — Zack Wheeler struck out eight over six strong innings of one-run ball, Bryson Stott homered and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 6-5 on Friday night.
Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa each had two hits and drove in a run to help the Phillies improve to 4-0 under interim manager Don Mattingly.
In his second appearance since beginning the season on the injured list, Wheeler (1-0) scattered three hits and walked two. Wheeler underwent surgery in September after a blood clot was discovered in his right shoulder and made his season debut with a five-inning outing against Atlanta on April 26.
Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, who began Friday with an NL-leading 11 homers, struck out five times.
Sosa’s RBI single and Stott’s three-run homer off reliever Cade Gibson in the seventh made it 6-1. Bryce Harper doubled and scored when Sosa hit a line drive to center. Gibson then plunked Brandon Marsh on the right elbow with a 91 mph fastball before Stott connected with a drive over the right-field wall.
The Marlins narrowed the deficit on Otto López’s RBI single, Liam Hicks’ sacrifice fly and Agustín Ramírez’s run-scoring single against relievers Jonathan Bowlan and José Alvarado in the eighth.
Javier Sanoja walked to lead off the ninth against Phillies closer Brad Keller. Jakob Marsee and Kyle Stowers struck out before López narrowed the deficit with an RBI single. Keller retired Xavier Edwards on a flyout to center for his first save.
Stowers protested the called third strike by plate umpire Mark Wegner and was ejected. Wegner also tossed Marlins manager Clayton McCullough after he came out to question the call and Stowers’ ejection.
Bohm hit an RBI single and Justin Crawford followed with a run-scoring double against Marlins starter Eury Pérez in the fourth to put Philadelphia ahead 2-1.
After he scored on Stott’s blast, Marsh was replaced because of an elbow contusion. Marsh had an X-ray and the results were clean, he told reporters following the game.
Pérez (2-3) gave up two runs and four hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out six.
Consecutive two-out doubles from López and Edwards in the first gave Miami an early lead. López had a homer overturned into a double when his drive deflected off Phillies centerfielder Crawford’s glove and the wall before it landed in the green background.
RHP Andrew Painter (1-2, 5.25) was set to start for Philadelphia on Saturday against RHP Max Meyer (1-0, 3.30).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) throws against the Miami Marlins during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Jim Rassol)
Miami Marlins pitcher Eury Pérez (39) throws against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Jim Rassol)
Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford (2) collides with the fence in center field chasing a fly ball hit by Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez (6) that was later ruled a ground rule double during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Jim Rassol)
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper (3) steals second base as Miami Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards (9) looks on in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Jim Rassol)
Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (28) hits a single and drives in a run against the Miami Marlins during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Jim Rassol)
