Pete Alonso goes yard as Mets win home opener over Blue Jays
Pete Alonso — who nearly left New York as a free agent over the winter — homered in his first home at-bat of the season to power the Mets to a 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday afternoon.
The Mets improved to 42-22 all-time in home openers, including 12-5 since Citi Field opened in 2009. The Blue Jays had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Alonso appeared likely to leave the Mets at multiple points during the offseason — especially on Jan. 25, when owner Steve Cohen called the negotiations “exhausting” and “worse” than the ones with free agent Juan Soto, who signed a 15-year deal worth $765 million in December.
But Alonso and the team agreed on Feb. 12 to a two-year deal worth $54 million with an opt-out following this season. On Friday, Alonso received a thunderous ovation during pregame introductions before he hit a two-run blast just beyond the right field wall off Kevin Gausman (1-1) in the first inning.
Alonso, whose 229 homers are 23 shy of Darryl Strawberry’s franchise record, emerged from the dugout for a curtain call and raised his arms to the sellout crowd of 43,945.
The Mets improved to 42-22 all-time in home openers, including 12-5 since Citi Field opened in 2009. The Blue Jays had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Alonso appeared likely to leave the Mets at multiple points during the offseason — especially on Jan. 25, when owner Steve Cohen called the negotiations “exhausting” and “worse” than the ones with free agent Juan Soto, who signed a 15-year deal worth $765 million in December.
But Alonso and the team agreed on Feb. 12 to a two-year deal worth $54 million with an opt-out following this season. On Friday, Alonso received a thunderous ovation during pregame introductions before he hit a two-run blast just beyond the right field wall off Kevin Gausman (1-1) in the first inning.
Alonso, whose 229 homers are 23 shy of Darryl Strawberry’s franchise record, emerged from the dugout for a curtain call and raised his arms to the sellout crowd of 43,945.
