BALTIMORE -- Pete Alonso is by no means a speedster. And Jacob deGrom -- Alonso’s Mets teammate from 2019-22 -- is well aware of that. But deGrom also knows of the Polar Bear's prodigious power.
So it wasn’t surprising to see what happened when deGrom tried to pick off Alonso in Tuesday night's Rangers-Orioles game at Camden Yards, an 8-5 Texas win. Nor was it shocking to see Alonso later hit his first home run since signing a five-year, $155 million deal with Baltimore over the offseason.
After a fun exchange between the two in the first inning, Alonso took deGrom deep in the fourth, belting a game-tying solo home run into the O's bullpen in left-center field. It was the first of Alonso's 265 homers to not come in a Mets uniform.
Now, let’s go back to how Alonso got on base in the first. The 31-year-old slugger had been 0-for-2 in his career against deGrom, with the friends’ first meeting coming last Sept. 12 in a Texas-New York matchup at Citi Field. Alonso got an RBI on a sac fly off the right-hander, but no hits.
It didn’t take long for Alonso to get the better of deGrom on Tuesday, though, as he knocked a two-out single up the middle in the bottom of the first, marking his fifth hit (all singles) through the first 16 at-bats of his O’s career.
Once the next batter (Adley Rutschman) ran the count full, deGrom unexpectedly turned and threw over to first baseman Jake Burger, clearly catching Alonso a bit off guard. Alonso stumbled back to the bag safely, then looked over at deGrom with a smile while slightly tossing his arms up in the air.
deGrom flashed a smile back as the two former teammates shared a humorous moment.
This wasn’t the only reunion in Baltimore this week, either. The Rangers’ roster also includes outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who shared a hug with Alonso prior to Monday’s opener.
Although deGrom’s throw to first may have been in jest, who knows? Maybe Alonso could swipe a bag or two this year. The Polar Bear stole second during a March 4 Grapefruit League game vs. the Astros in Spring Training. Perhaps deGrom had that on his scouting report.