O's Stifle The Mets in Pete's Quiet Return to Queens

Orioles 2 Mets 1 (Citi Field, Queens, NY)

Mets record: 69-81

Mets streak: Lost 2

WP - Yennier Cano (3-3)

LP - Dedniel Nunez (1-1)

SV - Rico Garcia (9)

Seat on the Korner: Brandon Young

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

Brandon Young and Jonah Tong dueled for five innings, but Young's team ended up edging out the Mets 2-1 in an emotional night at Citi Field.

Young's final line: 5 innings, 5 hits, 5 Walks and 6 strikeouts. He gave up one home run to a hot A.J. Ewing, that was his only real mistake of the game.

His 2-seamer was working well against righties, and he battled every at-bat. With the five walks, he had to get out of some trouble, but he pitched well enough to hold the Mets to only one run.

Need to Know

• So hot right now: The Mets have won five of their last seven

  and nine of their last 14.

  
  

• Coming into the game, the Mets are 22-14 since the trade deadline...Their .611

  winning percentage is the sixth-best mark in the majors during that span,

  and the fourth-best mark in the NL.

  
  

• Francisco Lindor is now 3rd all-time for the Mets lead-off home runs, with 18. He's only 3 home runs behind Jose Reyes and Curtis Granderson, who are tied with 21.

  
  

• The Ghost Fork's new life: Kodai Senga has appeared in 14 games since the

  trade deadline and is 0-1 with a 2.03 ERA.

  
  

• The Mets are one of only three teams in the majors with 11

  players who have hit 10 or more homers this year. (The Yankees and the Nationals are the other two teams)

  
  

• Juan Soto has recorded seven seasons with at least 25 home

  runs...Soto is one of only 12 others in Major League history to record

  seven seasons with 25+ home runs before turning 28...Only Mike Trout and

  Eddie Mathews had more such seasons, with eight.

Turning Point

Gunnar Henderson came up in the top of the 8th without even being noticed because before he stepped to the plate, Pete Alonso had just struck out to a cacophony of cheers mixed with boos by a torn Queens crowd.

Even some of the most devout Mets fans were cheering for the Polar Bear to break the 1-1 tie with a deep fly they were accustomed to seeing since 2019.

But he chased a pitch way low and outside, so the emotions were scattered for Henderson's at-bat.

And then, like a lightning strike, Gunnar drove a meatball to deep right field over the wall as Carson Benge could just look at it go.

The solo homer gave the Orioles the lead for good.

Three Keys

Sweet Emotions

Pete Alonso's return was indeed emotional. The crowd was fired up and was more mixed with boos than most had expected.

The Polar Bear went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in a key moment, but the crowd continued to chant his name and cheer for him when he was either on deck or at the plate.

In the top of the 9th, he was on deck, and the crowd was cheering "we want Pete, we want Pete."

It's safe to say his contributions to the Mets through the decade had not been forgotten.

Tong Solid Again

Jonah Tong actually out-pitched Brandon Young, but he ended up with a no-decision after a sharp outing.

He pitched 6 innings, only gave up 4 hits, and struck out six batters.

Orioles' Pen Bullish

The Orioles' bullpen shut down the Mets for four innings to close out the tight game at Citi Field.

Josh Walker, Yennier Cano, Grant Wolfram, and Rico Garcia combined for four scoreless innings, allowing only one hit.

The O's needed the win and probably need to win the next 9 out of 11 games to have a real shot at the last American League Wild Card spot.