NEW YORK—Pete Alonso hit his 300th home run at Citi Field, the stadium where he was a star for seven years. Alonso, who signed a five-year, $155 million contract with the Orioles last December, had been greeted enthusiastically by fans since his return on Monday. On Tuesday night, when he hit his milestone home run to the tie the score, 3-3, in the ninth, most in the crowd of 28,047 fans cheered. And then they cheered him even more on a curtain call — for a visiting player.
Alonso’s home run against New York Mets closer Kodai Senga tied the game with one out in the ninth inning. The ball traveled 414 feet; his bat toss wasn’t measured but it was emphatic.
“There’s a lot of history here with me and, honestly, it doesn’t matter where and when,” Alonso said. “I just want to help the team win every day. I’m just happy, really, really happy for us to come back the way we did.”
Alonso was called out of the dugout by Mets fans for the curtain call.
“Everyone in the dugout was saying, ‘Go out there,’ and they were right,” Alonso said.
Manager Craig Albernaz enjoyed the scene.
“That’s Pete for you,” he said. “I haven’t really seen a curtain call from a guy wearing gray pants, so that was kind of cool.”
Coby Mayo’s three-run inside-the-park home run in the 11th led the Orioles to a 7-5 win.
The Orioles (74-78) remain three games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final wild-card spot. Cleveland beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-6. With 10 games remaining, and the Guardians holding the tiebreaker, the Orioles chances remain slim.
“Honestly, it’s great because for us, we’re in a postseason push right now and all these games are important for us coming down the road and we’re playing some really important games right now,” Alonso said.
“Doesn’t matter who we’re playing, it’s really, really important coming down the stretch for us. We want to be in October, and all these games count.”
What happened in extra innings? The Orioles and Mets each scored a run in the 10th. In the 11th, with runners at first and second and two outs, Mayo hit a drive to deep center that A.J. Ewing tried to catch, but he fell into the center-field wall, and the ball bounced away, scoring Leody Taveras, Dylan Beavers and Mayo.
“I’ve had a few triples this year, and every time I tell [third base coach Buck Britton]: ‘Just send me, screw it,'” Mayo said. “But, no, obviously, I knew the ball kicked after it kind of hit him. It’s a big outfield, so you know there’s going to be some room to run, and looking at Buck, he sent me home. I almost tripped a little bit. I got the rubber legs. But I was super happy to be able to do that.”
It was Mayo’s 24th home run and the Orioles first inside-the-parker since Jorge Mateo’s on August 20th, 2023 in Oakland.
Jonathan Pintaro (2-2) allowed Mayo’s homer.
Gunnar Henderson started the 10th inning with a single off Daniel Duarte, moving Christian Encarnacion-Strand, the automatic runner, to third. Encarnacion-Strand scored on a wild pitch by Duarte.
In the bottom of the 10th, New York tied it, 4-4, against Alex Hoppe (1-1) when Marcus Semien’s double down the third base line, with the infield playing in, scored Carson Benge, who was the automatic runner.
Andrew Kittredge allowed an unearned run in the 11th when Bo Bichette’s RBI single scored Francisco Alvarez, the automatic runner.
What happened to Baz? Shane Baz, the only starting pitcher remaining in the rotation throughout the season, absorbed a 105-mph line drive from Bichette off his right elbow in the fifth inning.
X-rays on Baz’s elbow were negative.
“It just kind of got me right in the bone,” Baz said. “Kind of just went numb. Really wished I could have stayed in and been able to grind through it. Just couldn’t really grip the ball. I think if I had maybe a few more minutes, I could have been all right. I was kind of just playing it safe.”
Baz threw a warmup pitch to test the elbow, but it hit the backstop, and he was removed from the game.
He would be in line to start twice more, including the last game of the season on September 27th.
“Obviously, barring anything weird playing catch, I think I’ll be fine,” Baz said. “The ball just kind of slipped out of my hand on that warmup. I just didn’t have full feeling back yet. It probably got my nerve a little bit, too. No, I think I’ll be OK.”
Baz hadn’t had an efficient start before his injury, allowing three runs in the first four innings
Home runs by Encarnacion-Strand and Jeremiah Jackson in the second gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead.
Baz allowed a run in each of the first three innings. Jared Young’s sacrifice fly in the first scored Juan Soto, who drove in Ewing in the second inning with a single.
Benge homered to lead off the third to give New York a 3-2 lead.
Baz allowed three runs on seven hits in four-plus innings, walking two and striking out two.
Grant Wolfram relieved Baz and threw a scoreless fifth.
What does it mean? While Mayo’s home run was exciting, it was Alonso’s night. He came up big when the Orioles needed it.
“It’s just gigantic,” Baz said. “I don’t know what else to say. It’s like a movie, needing to win that game so bad, and Pete getting that here. I’m just so happy for him. He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever played with. He’s authentic, and we’re really happy to have him.”
What’s the stat of the day? 20. Alonso is the 20th player in major league history to hit his 300th home run against his former club.
What’s the word? “That’s why you sign a guy like Pete, to come up in that spot and hit a huge home run in a huge moment, with — not pressure, but a lot of people wanting him to hit a homer there. It just speaks volumes of how good a player he is and kind of how big he’s been for this team this year. I don’t know where we’d be without him.”-Mayo on Alonso’s 300th home run.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Félix Bautista threw a spotless inning, striking out a batter. He threw 17 pitches, 12 strikes, in Triple-A Norfolk’s 4-2 win over Charlotte.
Bautista, who had rotator cuff and labrum surgery in August 2025, can continue to pitch for Norfolk through the end of its season on Sunday in his rehab assignment.
What’s next? Chris Bassitt (7-5, 4.88) will start against Robert Stock (1-3, 5.93) on Wednesday night at 7:10. The game will be shown exclusively on ESPN. The broadcasters will be Kevin Brown, Eduardo Pérez, David Ross and Buster Olney.
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