Benches clear after Alonso hit by pitch in neck
NEW YORK — Pete Alonso ducked his head and flinched, bracing for the kind of influence he had felt too many occasions earlier than. As he did, José Soriano’s first-pitch curveball dipped down and struck him close to the again of his head, on the neck, in a spot the place his helmet did not fully defend him.
For a participant who has been hit close to the top a number of occasions lately, it was one other regarding second that, to many Mets, defied clarification. Alonso’s seventeenth hit-by-pitch of the season was amongst his scariest but, even supposing he seems to have averted the worst. Alonso handed concussion protocol through the Mets’ 5-3 loss to the Angels on Saturday and will return to the lineup sooner quite than later.
“This is not the first time that’s happened,” Francisco Lindor mentioned. “Hopefully tomorrow he comes in and he’s ready to go, and he gets back to hitting home runs.”
Leading off the eighth inning, Alonso could not duck out of the best way of Soriano’s curveball, falling to the bottom when it hit him. As Alonso stood up and commenced strolling to first base, he animatedly exchanged phrases with Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe. That prompted each benches to clear, although no punches had been thrown.
“I was trying to just defuse the situation,” O’Hoppe mentioned. “I told him we’re not trying to hit him. It was a curveball, and they were upset. I mean, he got hit in the head. It’s not a good thing. You’re never happy, so I understand it. Obviously what happened, happened. But I’m also new to the league and he’s a damn good player, so I’m not trying to start anything with him.”
Within minutes, umpires restored order, however that didn’t erase the unwell will the house workforce felt. The Mets, who led the Majors by a large margin in hit batsmen final season, are once more atop the National League in that stat. Alonso has been on the forefront of it, with an NL-leading 17 HBPs.
Last yr, Alonso was hit on the helmet twice in a month. In June, he missed eight video games after a Charlie Morton fastball struck his left wrist. He has endured a number of different shut calls, necessitating a litany of X-rays and concussion checks.
“Hopefully it doesn’t continue to happen,” Lindor mentioned. “But it goes both ways. We have hit other guys — not on purpose — as well. We’re just trying to be safe out there. We’re all trying to be safe, and I stand by Pete no matter what.”
Alonso left Citi Field earlier than the house clubhouse was open to media and was unavailable for remark. His supervisor and teammates as an alternative spoke for him, delivering a combined message. On the one hand, the Mets didn’t consider Soriano’s pitch was intentional. They have spoken usually in regards to the fraught train of retaliation, which of their eyes solves nothing.
On the opposite hand, the Mets are determined to determine cease all of the hit batters.
“I have some very personal thoughts about it,” supervisor Buck Showalter mentioned. “We’re all very annoyed by what’s been happening with Pete for some time.
“I don’t really want to hear about ‘a product of how they pitch him.’ You take a ball in the neck, I’m not happy about it. I’m not happy about it at all.”
Despite the frequent plunkings, Alonso has maintained his standing as one of many league’s high sluggers, hitting 39 homers in 122 video games this season.
“It was a breaking ball and you’re not trying to hit anybody,” Angels supervisor Phil Nevin mentioned. “But I understand when you get hit upstairs a lot, anything is going to set you off a little bit. But I had no problem with it. He’s a competitor. But Soriano, we’re not trying to throw at anybody.”
