Queens, NY — Pete Alonso wasted little time making an impact against his former team.
After connecting for his 300th career home run Tuesday night in Queens, Alonso returned Wednesday and launched another one in his first at-bat, helping spark a barrage of home runs as the Baltimore Orioles defeated the New York Mets 7-1 to complete the series sweep.
Alonso needed eight plate appearances against the Mets to reach the 300-homer milestone. His 301st came much quicker.
Facing Mets starter Xzavion Curry in the opening inning, Alonso battled through a lengthy at-bat before getting another opportunity. After fouling off consecutive 2-2 pitches, Alonso got a hanging curveball and crushed it, sending it over the wall to give Baltimore an early 1-0 advantage.
The blast immediately established the tone for an Orioles offense that continued to punish Mets pitching throughout the afternoon.
Baltimore added to its lead in the second inning. Christian Encarnacion-Strand reached second when a pop-up down the left-field line fell between three Mets defenders. Samuel Basallo followed with a groundout that moved Encarnacion-Strand to third, but Baltimore did not need to manufacture the run.
Jeremiah Jackson did the damage himself.
Curry left a slider over the middle of the plate, and Jackson drove it deep into the left-field seats for his second consecutive game with a home run. The Orioles had built a 2-0 lead without needing a hit with a runner in scoring position.
The power display continued in the third.
After Alonso and Gunnar Henderson were retired to begin the inning, Coby Mayo worked a five-pitch walk. Curry then fell behind Encarnacion-Strand 2-0 before challenging him with a 90-mph fastball near the top of the strike zone.
It was a mistake the Orioles’ third baseman did not miss.
Encarnacion-Strand unloaded on the pitch and sent it deep over the left-field wall. Mets left fielder Juan Soto barely reacted as the ball sailed out of the park.
Basallo followed with another blast on the very next pitch.
The young catcher jumped on a splitter that remained over the heart of the plate and launched a towering home run to center field, giving Baltimore consecutive homers and a commanding 4-0 lead.
With the Orioles providing plenty of run support, Chris Bassitt took care of the rest.
The 38-year-old right-hander, a former member of the Mets, delivered one of his strongest outings of the season. Bassitt worked 6⅔ innings, allowing five hits and one earned run while walking one and striking out six.
He immediately settled into a rhythm.
Bassitt retired Francisco Lindor and Soto to begin the game, with Alonso making an outstanding diving play to take a potential base hit away from Soto. Bo Bichette later reached on a high chopper down the third-base line, and an errant throw by Encarnacion-Strand allowed Bichette to advance to second.
Bassitt refused to let the mistake become costly, getting Carson Benge to fly out and ending the inning.
The Mets again threatened in the second. After Bassitt retired Jared Young and Marcus Semien, A.J. Ewing singled to left and stole second. Bassitt responded by getting Brett Baty to look at a high curveball for strike three, stranding another runner in scoring position.
The veteran right-hander then cruised through the third, striking out Luis Torrens and Lindor before getting Soto to fly out to right.
New York finally broke through in the fourth.
Bassitt recorded the first two outs of the inning, but Young worked a six-pitch walk to keep the inning alive. Bassitt then balked, sending Young to second and putting another Mets runner in scoring position.
Semien took advantage.
Bassitt left a 2-1 sinker up in the zone, and Semien lined the pitch into left field to bring Young home and cut Baltimore’s lead to 4-1.
That would be the extent of the Mets’ offense.
Bassitt responded by retiring the side in order in the fifth, ending the inning with another strikeout of Lindor. He then worked through the heart of New York’s lineup in the sixth on just 10 pitches, securing his fifth quality start of the season.
Having thrown only 77 pitches through six innings, Bassitt was sent back to the mound for the seventh.
Young finally opened the inning with a single, giving New York its first leadoff hit against Bassitt. The right-hander retired the next two batters, but Baty’s two-out single brought his afternoon to an end.
Anthony Nunez entered and immediately finished the job by striking out Torrens, officially closing Bassitt’s line at 6⅔ innings, five hits, one earned run, one walk and six strikeouts.
Baltimore added one more run in the ninth without relying on the home run ball.
Encarnacion-Strand opened the inning with a double down the right-field line, giving him his third extra-base hit of the game. Basallo followed with his second hit of the afternoon, ripping a 109-mph line drive into right field to score Encarnacion-Strand and make it 7-1.
Yennier Cano then took the mound in the bottom of the ninth and worked around a two-out single to close out the victory and complete Baltimore’s sweep.
The Orioles’ latest win also kept them within striking distance of the American League postseason race.
Baltimore entered the weekend 2½ games behind the AL’s third wild-card position. The Orioles now turn their attention to a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers, who enter the matchup with baseball’s best record.
Meanwhile, Chicago remains directly ahead of Baltimore in the wild-card chase. The White Sox are scheduled to open a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
With the postseason race tightening, every game carries increased significance for the Orioles. After taking both games from the Mets, Baltimore will now have an opportunity to make up additional ground when it faces one of the league’s top teams this weekend.
