Pete Alonso hits first Orioles HR after former NY Mets prospect robbed him of a hit

Our Pete Alonso watch has begun. While the New York Mets have to wait until Saturday for spring training action, multiple teams started on Friday with the Baltimore Orioles hosting the New York Yankees. Alonso just couldn't wait. In the bottom of the sixth, he went deep.

Alonso was the second batter in the lineup for the Orioles and received a large enough spring training ovation from those in attendance. He's the guy who's going to have a heavy load on his shoulders to turn around one of last year's largest underachievers.

He grounded out to the first baseman in his first at-bat. In his second plate appearance, Alonso drove one into deep center field only for the Yankees center fielder to make one of the first defensive highlight plays of 2026. Conveniently, there’s another Mets connection.

Yep, that’s Kenedy Corona flying in center field and robbing Pete Alonso of his first Orioles hit

If the name Kenedy Corona doesn’t ring a bell, you probably don’t recall much about the 2019-2020 Mets offseason. He was one of the prospected traded to the Houston Astros for Jake Marisnick. The shortened 2020 season had Marisnick appearing in only 16 games in 2020 before he became a free agent.

Corona wasn’t a well-regarded Mets prospect at the time of the trade. He ended up mashing in the lower minor leagues, peaking at 22 home runs in 2023. He was a notable enough Astros prospect and made his MLB debut with them in 2025 for 3 games and 4 plate appearances. He did walk twice.

Corona found his way into free agency where he ended up joining a whole bunch of ex-Mets within the Yankees organization. Batting behind him in the lineup for the Yankees on Friday was Ali Sanchez. In the cleanup spot was Amed Rosario.

Defensive plays like this can help elevate Corona’s place within the Yankees depth chart. He’s very unlikely to make the Yankees roster out of camp barring multiple injuries. Early plays like this are sure to catch their attention when the time comes. Saving runs can give anyone a job.

Alonso will gladly take the theft with the home run coming later in the game. As Mets fans, we can enjoy it. It doesn't count against us and it should be one of many versus the Yankees.