Juan Soto can expect a warm reaction at Citi Field when he finally plays his first home game as a member of the New York Mets.
But the biggest cheers may be reserved for Pete Alonso — a familiar face, but one whose return to New York was anything but certain throughout the offseason.
Alonso will look to build off an impressive season-opening road trip when he and the Mets host the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game interleague series Friday.
Tylor Megill (1-0, 1.80 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against Kevin Gausman (1-0, 3.00 ERA) in a battle of right-handers.
Both teams were off Thursday after earning wins Wednesday. The Mets took the rubber game of a three-game series with a 6-5, 11-inning victory over the Miami Marlins. The host Blue Jays beat the Washington Nationals 4-2 to complete a three-game sweep.
In Miami, Alonso finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs and hit the game-tying three-run homer in the eighth inning before he walked and scored the Mets’ second and decisive run in the 11th inning.
Alonso finished the road trip hitting .286 with two homers, eight RBIs and a 1.090 OPS. Afterward, he admitted he was looking forward to being introduced at Citi Field, where he has been a popular presence since he hit a rookie-record 53 homers in 2019.
“It’s going to be so awesome,” Alonso said. “Any guys live for those little moments like that, so it’s going to be really special. Stoked to be back.”
It was not always guaranteed that Alonso would be back. Owner Steve Cohen said Jan. 25 that the Alonso contract talks were “worse” than the ones between the Mets and Soto, who signed a 15-year, $765 million deal on Dec. 11.
But Alonso, whose 228 homers leave him 24 round-trippers shy of Darryl Strawberry’s franchise record, and the Mets finally agreed to terms Feb. 12. He signed a two-year deal worth $54 million with an opt-out after this season.
Alonso has spent the first six games batting behind Soto, who is hitting .238 with one homer, two RBIs and a .407 on-base percentage thanks to six walks in 27 plate appearances.
Potential contract snafus are nothing new for the Blue Jays, who unsuccessfully attempted to sign impending free agent Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to an extension over the winter. Guerrero batted second in the first seven games behind Bo Bichette, who is also slated to hit free agency after this season.
But even with Guerrero off to a slow start (.222, no homers, .624 OPS), the Blue Jays offered a glimpse at their offensive potential while going 5-2 and hitting an American League-best .288 during a season-opening homestand. New cleanup hitter Andres Gimenez laced three homers while Bichette and George Springer hit a combined .360 with eight RBIs in 50 at-bats.
Toronto outscored the Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles 17-8 while winning the final four games of the homestand.
“(A) 5-2 homestand is awesome and sweeping anybody is really tough to do,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “… I love the way they went about it.”
Megill and Gausman each earned the win in their season debuts on March 28. Megill allowed one run over five innings as the Mets beat the Houston Astros 3-1 while Gausman gave up two runs over six innings in the Blue Jays’ 8-2 victory over the Orioles.
Megill is 1-0 with a 0.52 ERA in 17 1/3 innings over three career starts against the Blue Jays. Gausman is 1-3 with a 5.16 ERA in 22 2/3 innings over five games (four starts) against the Mets.
–Field Level Media
