BALTIMORE -- Not many pitchers attempt pickoff throws on Pete Alonso, who is by no means a speedster. The Polar Bear isn’t typically expecting it, especially not on a full-count pitch. So when it happened on Tuesday night -- with the toss coming from his former Mets teammate Jacob deGrom, no less -- it caught Alonso off-guard as he stumbled back to the bag.
Alonso gathered himself and tossed his hands in the air, as deGrom flashed a smile over to first.
“Just whatever. It's whatever,” Alonso said after making another surprised expression when asked about the pickoff following the Orioles’ 8-5 loss to the Rangers. “I was surprised, yes.”
“He looked at me like [mimics Alonso’s hand motions],” deGrom said.
All in good fun between two friends who shared a clubhouse in New York from 2019-22. But it was Alonso who later got the last laugh.
deGrom gave up Alonso’s first O’s home run in the fourth inning, as the 31-year-old slugger opened the frame with a Statcast-projected 400-foot shot into Baltimore’s bullpen in left-center field. It marked the first of Alonso’s 265 homers to not come in a Mets uniform.
Alonso has gotten off to a hot start with his new club, hitting .316 (6-for-19) over his first five games after signing a five-year, $155 million deal with the Orioles during the offseason.
Because Alonso and deGrom were on the same side for so long, the two haven’t faced off often. They met for the first time in a Texas-New York matchup at Citi Field last Sept. 12, when Alonso went 0-for-2 with a sac fly.
This time, Alonso fared better, knocking a two-out single in the first and homering in the fourth. deGrom, a five-time All-Star and two-time National League Cy Young Award winner, entered Tuesday with a 5-0 record and a 1.34 ERA in five previous starts against the O’s during a 12-year MLB career spent with the Mets (2014-22) and Rangers (2023-25).
“He’s one of the best to ever do it. And yeah, I’m just really, really pleased that today was my day,” Alonso said. “But I know that most days, not as fortunate. Again, he’s one of the best to do it. I’m happy it went in my favor today."
deGrom allowed three earned runs on six hits with seven strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings in his season debut, taking a no-decision after his 79-pitch outing. He left after giving up a game-tying two-run double to Gunnar Henderson with two outs in the fifth.
“I went and looked back, the one Gunnar hit was not a bad pitch. He just got to it,” deGrom said. “The pitches that stick out right now, I wanted that fastball down. It's always about pitch location and they weren't terrible, and I looked, even the Pete homer.”
Alonso hasn’t been in Baltimore long, but he’s already shown how skillful he can be with the bat. His first home run came on a 96.5 mph sinker from deGrom that was located on the inside of the strike zone, as Alonso turned on it and deposited it over the wall.
On Sunday, Alonso knocked a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning of the Orioles’ 8-6 win over the Twins, connecting on a pitch from right-hander Mick Abel that was well off the plate and over the chalk of the opposing batter’s box.
As for the pickoff attempt, it’s not like Alonso has never stolen a base. He has 18 in 1,013 big league games, and he swiped one during a March 4 Grapefruit League contest vs. the Astros.
But Alonso is best known for his prodigious power. And his first Orioles home run could be followed by many more.
“It was good to see him get into one,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “I’m sure it felt good for him to get that.”
“It felt good. I felt really good today,” Alonso added. “I’m glad to get the first one out of the way. The swing felt really good today, and I’m glad to connect with one.”