Orioles Slugger Pete Alonso Returns To New York To Face Mets With Season In Despair

There were oh so many pockets in this 162-game marathon where it was the perfect time to face the New York Mets. Oh so many.

Now, when the Orioles, on playoff live support, travel to New York is not one of them. Not even close.

The Mets, like the Orioles, are colossal disappointments and both face more probing questions this offseason (the Orioles are already leaning into it throwing middling managers out of The Warehouse) and both are, truly, playing out the string.

But the O’s have not been officially eliminated and this is an especially big series for the biggest bat baseball failure Mike Elias every acquired, Pete Alonso. The all-time leading home run hitter in Mets franchise history and one of their more popular players of the last 25 years, returns to Citi Field for the first time since departing as a free-agent this winter.

He does so having snapped out of a woeful, 15-game slide over the weekend in Toronto, chasing his 300th career home run in front of fans that are absolutely going to embrace him. He tried to carry another broken Orioles’ lineup back to .500, if not a Wild Card spot, with a 30-game surge where he did as much damage as anyone in MLB. It wasn't enough.

Perhaps, he can put on a show in The Big Apple this week, but the Mets are in the best place they have been all season after a horrid first half, and gaining ground in the Wild Card standings this week won’t be easy.

How Hot Are The Mets?

It’s hard to say what was rock bottom for New York, but they started to find their groove last month. They took a series from the Rays, the best team in the American League who will probably finish 20 games ahead of the O’s in the AL East, and haven’t looked back.

They swept the Marlins and then won a series against the Giants and they gave the Yankees all they could handle, including jumping all over former Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole. This is the best they have hit the ball all season – getting rid of outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (a wasted $5M by Elias) seems like a win for them - and they are playing loose right now.

Juan Soto is back in good form in the middle of the lineup, 2019 first-round pick Brett Baty actually has a 1000 OPS over the last month and while former Orioles-killer Bo Bichette has had a miserable first season in New York overall, he’s been better in the second half.

And in a throwback to the recent Red Sox series, with journeyman back-up catcher Mickey Gasper doing improbable things, Luis Torrens has been crushing for the Mets in the second half and gave the Yankees problems over the weekend.

The One That Got Away

The Orioles will not have to face the Mets best starter in this series, Nolan McLean, who Elias, amid a rebuild with virtually no pitching prospects at the time, opted not to sign after drafting. McLean started Friday against the Yankees and while he hasn’t been as dominant this season, a 3.24 ERA and 184 Ks is no joke and on a Baltimore staff that isn’t able to get swing-and-miss giving this kid away is one of three years worth of mistakes that should have cost Elias his job years ago.

The Orioles are scheduled to face youngster Jonah Tong (he’s made just four starts), struggling veteran Sean Manaea (5-7, 4.79 ERA) and journeyman Robert Stock (1-3, 5.93)

An Icy Homecoming?

Had to get a Polar Bear reference in here for Alonso, but this won’t be cold. Many in the industry were surprised the Mets let him walk every getting into his 30s. We’ll see how this contract ages, but Alonso has been what Baltimore hoped for – a legit power producer, though a bit streaky.

Alonso has done damage in NL East ballparks and against NL East teams all season. In 499 games at Citi Field Alonso has 123 homers and 342 RBIs and a .249/.342/.503 slash for an .845 OPS.

Subscribe To "The Daiy Flock" For Urgent O's Content And Conversations:

Add us as a preferred source on Google