The New York Mets surely experienced a moment or two of high anxiety this afternoon, but it appears a potentially serious crisis has been averted.
Rookie first baseman Pete Alonso took a 93 mph two-seamer in on the hands via St. Louis right-hander Miles Mikolas during his at-bat in the eighth inning but remained in the game, eventually flying out.
After going 0-for-4 and being replaced in the field by Dominic Smith in the top half of the ninth, the Mets’ 24-year-old offensive phenom underwent an x-ray on his right hand which came back negative, as per Matt Ehalt of Yahoo Sports.
Alonso’s powered his way into MLB’s offensive leaderboards after making his major league debut on Opening Day in Washington. Through 20 games (73 at-bats), the Florida native is slashing .315/.405/.699 with seven homers, 18 RBIs, seven doubles, and has exhibited solid play at first base.
Despite the brief scare that sent shockwaves through the fan base after the Mets’ 10-2 loss to the Cardinals on Saturday, Alonso seemed relieved in his post-game interviews (video via Ehalt).
“I knew I’d be OK but, as I’m sure some people know, I’ve had some [injury] issues in the past; the last three weeks of my college career I played with a broken hand and had some issues in the minor leagues after getting hit by pitches in the hand,” Alonso said. “[…] X-rays don’t lie, so I’m really thankful that it caught me in a perfect spot, so to speak. I’m all good, now I’m just icing it.”
The Mets may have dodged a bullet in Pete Alonso avoiding any broken bones. Hopefully, he won’t be on the shelf for too long — if at all. Luckily, his understudy, Dom Smith, came into Saturday’s game hitting .429/.520/.524 over his first 25 plate appearances this season and possesses an outstanding glove at first.
We’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available.
