Pete Alonso Homers Again in Orioles' 7-1 Sweep of Mets

Pete Alonso hit his 37th home run of the season as the Baltimore Orioles defeated the New York Mets 7-1 on Wednesday.

The Baltimore Orioles defeated the New York Mets 7-1 on Wednesday night to complete a three-game series sweep at Citi Field. Pete Alonso sparked the victory with a first-inning home run off emergency starter Xzavion Curry, driving a 74 mph curveball 410 feet into the second deck in left field. The blast was one of four home runs hit by Baltimore in the contest, moving the club within 2½ games of the Chicago White Sox for the final American League playoff spot.

Alonso finished his return to Queens with two hits in 12 at-bats, both of which were home runs. On Tuesday, he hit his 300th career home run in the ninth inning to tie a game the Orioles eventually won 7-5 in 11 innings. The slugger currently leads the American League with 102 RBIs and ranks fourth in the league with 37 home runs. His season OPS stands at .864, slightly higher than his career mark of .857.

During his first at-bat Wednesday, a crowd of 25,324 gave Alonso a standing ovation, following a two-minute tribute video and a curtain call earlier in the series. The Mets, who did not re-sign Alonso after he spent seven seasons in New York, were officially eliminated from postseason contention on Monday. Despite a payroll exceeding $350 million, the Mets fell to a losing record following Tuesday's defeat and have remained near the bottom of the NL East for much of the season.