Pete Alonso was in the Mets’ lineup one day after he was hit in the back of the neck with a breaking ball by Angels reliever Jose Soriano in the eighth inning of Saturday’s loss, causing the benches to clear with no punches thrown.
Alonso passed all concussion protocols, but he clearly was still frustrated one day after he was plunked for an NL-leading 17th time this season.
“It’s frustrating because it was just a really bad miss,” Alonso said after Sunday’s 3-2 win. “I understand it wasn’t intentional, but for misses to be that bad, it’s happening over the course of baseball, and that’s why it’s frustrating.
“Every time you go on the field you can get hurt, but I’m just happy that I didn’t have a concussion and I was able to play [Sunday].”
Alonso believes the advent of the universal DH in both leagues last season means “there’s no repercussions” because pitchers “no longer have to stand in the box.”
“That’s just unfortunately a product of it. It’s just part of the game now and that’s unfortunate and that’s at the expense of hitters,” Alonso said. “There’s no malicious intent, but that’s part of the game now.”
The All-Star first baseman added that the best retaliation is to “beat them the next day or beat them that night.” He ripped a game-tying double in the eighth inning Sunday and also singled in the sixth for a 2-for-4 afternoon.
“I wanted to stay on top of it by doing the concussion [testing] and I felt like myself and I was ready to go,” Alonso said. “Honestly, you just have to let the competitive nature of the game take over. You can’t let negative thoughts or doubt or any other unproductive thoughts get in your way. You can’t play scared or too much in your own mind.”
All-Star closer Edwin Diaz (knee) threw off a mound before the game, and Buck Showalter said they’ll see how he feels Monday before determining the next step.
“We could say this is what’s going to happen, and then all of a sudden, he’s a little sore, and that would slow it down,” Showalter said. “But he hasn’t been sore at all.”
Mark Vientos was reinstated from the IL and went 0-for-3 with a walk. Reliever Jeff Brigham also was called up from Triple-A Syracuse. Lefty Adam Kolarek and outfielder Abraham Almonte were designated for assignment.