Orioles Rally Past Mets 7-5 in 11 Innings Behind Alonso Milestone, Mayo Inside-the-Park Homer

The Baltimore Orioles needed 11 innings Tuesday night, but they found a way to pull out one of their most dramatic victories of the season.

Baltimore defeated the New York Mets, 7-5, at Citi Field on Tuesday, Sept. 15, overcoming a late deficit before Coby Mayo delivered a three-run inside-the-park home run in the top of the 11th inning. Pete Alonso provided the other unforgettable moment, hitting the 300th home run of his career against his former club to tie the game in the ninth. The victory improved Baltimore to 74-78 and kept the Orioles three games behind Cleveland for the final American League playoff position.

Orioles Answer Early Mets Lead

New York struck first against Orioles starter Shane Baz in the bottom of the first inning. Jared Young brought home Juan Soto with a sacrifice fly to put the Mets ahead, 1-0.

Baltimore immediately responded in the second. Christian Encarnacion-Strand launched his ninth home run of the season to tie the game before Jeremiah Jackson followed with his eighth homer, giving the Orioles a 2-1 advantage. The back-to-back power display quickly erased New York’s early momentum and gave Baz his first lead of the evening.

The Mets answered in the bottom half when Soto drove home a run with a single, evening the score at 2-2. Carson Benge then put New York back in front with his 18th home run in the third inning, giving the Mets a 3-2 advantage.

That score would remain unchanged for several innings as Baltimore struggled to generate offense against Sean Manaea and the Mets bullpen.

Baz Forced From Game

Baltimore also encountered a concerning moment in the fifth inning.

Baz was struck on his right arm by a 105.1 mph line drive off the bat of Bo Bichette and had to leave the game. The Orioles turned to their bullpen much earlier than anticipated, forcing Baltimore’s relievers to navigate the remainder of regulation and eventually extra innings.

Grant Wolfram took over and helped Baltimore escape the inning. The Orioles bullpen ultimately did enough to keep the deficit at one and give the offense an opportunity to mount a comeback.

That opportunity finally arrived in the ninth.

Alonso Makes History at Citi Field

There might not have been a more fitting location for Pete Alonso to hit career home run No. 300.

Alonso spent his first seven major-league seasons with the Mets and hit a franchise-record 264 home runs for New York before signing with Baltimore last offseason. Returning to Citi Field wearing an Orioles uniform, Alonso entered the ninth inning without a hit in his first seven plate appearances of the series.

That changed dramatically.

Alonso crushed a 414-foot solo home run off Kodai Senga with one out in the ninth, tying the game at 3-3 and giving Alonso the 300th home run of his career. The blast was Alonso’s 36th homer of the season and came against the organization where he established himself as one of baseball’s premier power hitters.

The Citi Field crowd responded with a lengthy ovation. Fans chanted Alonso’s name until the Orioles slugger came back out of the visiting dugout for a curtain call — an unusual scene for a visiting player who had just tied the game against the home team.

It was also an enormous home run for Baltimore.

The Orioles entered the ninth three outs away from a 3-2 defeat. Instead, Alonso erased the deficit with one swing and pushed the game into extra innings.

Orioles Take Lead in 10th

Baltimore moved back in front in the top of the 10th.

With the automatic runner in play, Encarnacion-Strand eventually raced home on a wild pitch, putting Baltimore ahead, 4-3.

Again, the Mets answered.

Marcus Semien delivered an RBI double against Alex Hoppe in the bottom of the inning, tying the game at 4-4 and extending the night into the 11th. Hoppe recovered to strike out Francisco Alvarez and escape without allowing the winning run to score.

That escape proved critical because Mayo was about to deliver the decisive swing.

Mayo Races Around the Bases

With two outs in the top of the 11th, Mayo stepped to the plate against Jonathan Pintaro with the game still tied.

Mayo fell behind 0-2 before driving a pitch deep toward center field. Mets rookie A.J. Ewing attempted to make the catch near the wall, but the ball glanced off his glove as he crashed into the fence.

The baseball rolled away while Ewing remained down.

Mayo never stopped running.

He raced around first, second and third before reaching home standing up for a three-run inside-the-park home run, suddenly giving Baltimore a 7-4 advantage. It was Mayo’s 24th home run of the season and one of the most unusual and important home runs of Baltimore’s year.

The play transformed a 4-4 extra-inning battle into a three-run Orioles lead.

New York still had one final opportunity.

Kittredge Closes It

Andrew Kittredge entered for the bottom of the 11th with Baltimore protecting its 7-4 advantage.

The Mets managed to bring home one run when Bichette delivered a two-out RBI single, cutting Baltimore’s lead to 7-5. Kittredge prevented the rally from going any further, getting Benge to fly out to finish the game and secure his 10th save of the season.

Hoppe earned the victory to improve to 1-1, while Pintaro took the loss.

Baltimore finished with seven runs on eight hits despite being outhit by New York, 12-8. The Orioles made their hits count, however, finishing with four home runs — Encarnacion-Strand, Jackson, Alonso and Mayo — while the Mets hit one.

Baltimore’s Power Makes the Difference

The Orioles did not generate a high volume of hits Tuesday, but their power changed the game.

Encarnacion-Strand and Jackson homered in the second. Alonso delivered the game-saving home run in the ninth. Mayo then produced the decisive three-run inside-the-park homer in the 11th.

Baltimore scored six of its seven runs either directly on home runs or, in Mayo’s case, with runners scoring on his inside-the-park shot.

The Orioles also demonstrated considerable resilience. Baltimore trailed 1-0 and 3-2, watched New York answer its go-ahead run in the 10th and then had to regroup again for the 11th.

Each time, the Orioles responded.

Orioles Keep Their Season Alive

Baltimore’s victory carried significance beyond the dramatic circumstances at Citi Field.

The Orioles improved to 74-78 and remained three games behind Cleveland in the race for the final American League postseason spot. With only 10 games remaining after Tuesday, Baltimore has very little margin for error, but the Orioles remain mathematically involved in the race.

Baltimore has also put together consecutive victories over New York after taking Monday’s series opener, 2-1. The Orioles will have an opportunity to complete the sweep Wednesday night at Citi Field, with Chris Bassitt scheduled to face Robert Stock.

MSB Take

What a bizarre and memorable Orioles victory.

Pete Alonso hitting career home run No. 300 at Citi Field against his former team would have been enough to make this game memorable by itself. Doing it in the ninth inning to save the Orioles from a loss — and then receiving a curtain call from Mets fans — made the moment even more remarkable.

Then Coby Mayo somehow topped the drama two innings later.

Mayo’s three-run inside-the-park home run gave Baltimore the decisive advantage and provided another example of why his power can be such an important part of the Orioles’ lineup moving forward. Baltimore only collected eight hits, but four of them left the yard in one form or another.

The biggest concern coming out of the game is Baz. Baltimore can ill afford another pitching injury this late in the season, particularly while trying to chase down the final American League playoff spot.

But for one night, the Orioles found a way.

They were down to their final three outs. Alonso changed the game. The bullpen kept them alive. Mayo finished it.

With the season rapidly approaching its final stretch, Baltimore needed a win and got one in unforgettable fashion.