There aren’t many truly easy plays in Major League Baseball, especially under pressure-packed circumstances.
New York Mets fans realized that in painful fashion on Sunday night, as did star first baseman Pete Alonso. In the bottom of the eighth inning, with the score tied 2-2 against the rival New York Yankees, Alonso made a memorable gaffe.
With runners on second and third and just one out, Alonso fielded a ground ball from the Yankees’ Jorbit Vivas and uncorked a wild throw over the head of catcher Francisco Alvarez, allowing the go-ahead run to score. The Yankees quickly rattled off five more runs in the inning to put the game away.
The Subway Series is always intense, but this weekend was much more of a spectacle than usual thanks to Juan Soto’s return to the Bronx. And Alonso’s mistake ultimately sealed the Mets’ fate, allowing droves of ravenous Yankees fans to head home happy.
“I messed it up,” Alonso said, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
“I just made an awful throw. That whole inning, this game, it’s on me. After that throw, the momentum got out of hand.”
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There’s not much more to add to the situation. The Mets let this one get away, as Soto, Alonso, and Francisco Lindor went 0-for-12 at the top of the order and failed to come through in a handful of key spots.
It’s only May 19. The Mets will get another shot at the Yankees when they come to Queens from Jul. 4-6. But it would have been nice to get a bit more of a moral victory this time around.
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