NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso went hitless in his return to Citi Field, but Gunnar Henderson’s tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning gave the Baltimore Orioles a 2-1 victory over the New York Mets on Monday night.
Henderson connected off Dedniel Núñez (1-1) immediately after Alonso struck out, allowing the Orioles to close to three games behind Cleveland for the final American League wild card.
Heston Kjerstad drove in a run with a second-inning double.
A.J. Ewing homered for the Mets (69-81), who were eliminated from playoff contention and assured a losing season after beginning the year with a record payroll of $358.4 million.
The Mets played a nearly two-minute video tribute to Alonso, the franchise’s home run leader, before first pitch. The 31-year-old slugger, who signed a $155 million, five-year contract with Baltimore last December after New York declined to re-sign him as a free agent, tipped his cap and clapped as the crowd of 35,800 gave him a standing ovation.
Alonso received standing ovations and “Pete Alonso!” chants before each plate appearance. He flied out in the first, walked in the third and hooked a potential 300th career homer foul into the upper deck in left field, then grounded out in the fifth.
Henderson’s homer turned a solid outing into a win for Yennier Cano (3-3), who finished the seventh. Rico Garcia earned his ninth save with a perfect ninth.
Orioles right-hander Brandon Young allowed one run in five innings despite walking five and giving up five hits. He struck out six and limited the Mets to one hit in 10 at-bats with runners on base.
Mets rookie Jonah Tong allowed an unearned run and four hits over six innings, striking out six and walking one.
Ewing’s homer gave New York 11 players with at least 10 home runs for the first time in club history.
