New York Mets first baseman and major league home run leader Pete Alonso exited Wednesday's game with the Atlanta Braves (GameTracker) in the first inning after being hit by a pitch from Charlie Morton. The 96.5 mph fastball hit Alonso in his left wrist/hand. He left the game after being looked at by the trainer and was replaced at first base by Mark Canha
The Mets later announced X-rays on Alonso's wrist came back negative, and he is considered day-to-day with a contusion. He was seen in the dugout with his left hand wrapped later in the game. Here is the hit-by-pitch:
Mets manager Buck Showalter said Thursday that Alonso also had a CT scan in Atlanta in the morning and then flew back to New York for an MRI and other tests (via Tim Healey). The Mets wrap up their series in Atlanta Thursday before the road trip continues Friday against the Pirates. Presumably, Alonso is out for Thursday but could meet the team in Pittsburgh and rejoin the lineup, assuming the tests all check out OK.
Tuesday night, Alonso hit a two-run home run against Braves righty Bryce Elder, and afterward cameras caught Alonso taunting Elder from the dugout, yelling, "Throw it again!" With the caveat that you can never really know a pitcher's true intentions, Morton hitting Alonso appeared unintentional.
It goes without saying losing Alonso for any length of time would be devastating for a Mets team that entered play Wednesday ranked 21st in runs per game (4.30). Alonso's 22 home runs lead baseball. Francisco Lindor has 11 home runs, Francisco Álvarez hit his ninth Wednesday, and no other Met has more than five homers.
Alonso, 28, has been supremely durable throughout his career. He's played 591 of 607 possible regular season games, or 97%, since making the Opening Day roster as a rookie in 2018. Alonso's only career injured list stint was the minimum 10 days in May 2021, after he was hit by a pitch in the right hand.
The Mets enter Thursday's game with a 30-32 record despite the highest payroll in baseball history. They are 7.5 games out in the NL East and 2 1/2 games behind the third and final National League wild-card spot.
