NY Mets vs. Orioles has appropriate storyline featuring Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso

Pete Alonso makes his Citi Field return this week as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. Sure to take a few bows, crack a few baseballs, and create a ruckus of fans displeased with the way the 2026 New York Mets season went, the biggest story of all will be the oddity of him and Francisco Lindor entering the series with 299 career home runs.

Who’d have thought? Two very different players in their career, Alonso’s typical home run-filled season and Lindor’s lengthy absence in 2026 have evened them up. It seems far too appropriate for it to happen in the same game or at least within the same series.

Needless to say, Alonso dong number 300 will be the biggest story as the majority came in a Mets uniform. Lindor has 161 with the Mets and another 138 with Cleveland. We’re far more connected to Alonso’s power history than we are to Lindor, but the real magnitude of it happening together is a reminder of what the five seasons they spent together ended up being about.

The Francisco Lindor-Pete Alonso era in Mets history was one of the best for individual achievements, not so much for the team

Two playoff trips together in five tries, Lindor and Alonso were the center of several Mets offenses. The fact they only got to play one season with Juan Soto providing additional help remains front of mind for many. Alonso’s return was one of the most anticipated of the year for haters of David Stearns or the Mets in general. The only way to spin it is the Mets should have retained him. Failure to appropriately replace his bat in the lineup is a daily conversation and one many will never cease to discuss.

All the while, the Mets tried with Alonso front and center for 7 seasons. The latter 5 had Lindor there, too. On opposite sides of the field for the first time in a MLB game since August 22, 2019, it’s yet another September game featuring the pair where playoff chances are slim or vacant.

New York has a tragic number of 1. One less or one San Diego Padres win eliminates. The Orioles are 4 games out of the AL Wild Card. At 72-78 and 3-7 in their last 10, it’s not as if they’re making some sort of push. There are two teams better than them out of the race as well.

Along with hitting number 300, Alonso has a chance to help officially eliminate his ex-club from the playoffs for good. With a Wild Card Elimination number of 9, the Mets can at best put a dent in their hopeless dreams of making it to the postseason. Business should take care of itself eventually.

When Alonso signed with the Orioles, one of the first things fans did was check to see what the Mets schedule looked like. When would he be back? Mid-September had the possibility of leading to a wild race to the playoffs. How could the game not have some meaning for the Mets?

Alonso and Lindor hitting number 300 in the same series while the Mets are likely to get eliminated in some fashion (the Padres play the Colorado Rockies, too) leads to yet another celebratory moment all about the individual and not the team. Alonso set the Mets home run record on August 12, 2025, doing his best to not make it about himself as the team was spiraling. It was only their second win of the month. Far too often, this became the leading story with the Mets.

We love our players. We love those milestones leading to something greater.

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