Pete Alonso said he was OK after a high and tight fastball grazed his shoulder, hit part of the face guard extension on his helmet, and his face during Thursday’s season-opening win over the Nationals.
“All good, just a busted lip,” Alonso said, smiling through a still-bloodied mouth after the game. “Got my teeth, no concussion, I’m all good.”
Manager Buck Showalter, after his first victory since 2018 when he was with the Orioles, voiced some displeasure after Alonso was the third Met to be hit by a pitch, and Starling Marte did the same from the New York dugout immediately after Alonso was hit.
“It did graze him off the shoulder and onto the mouth,” Showalter said.
“Someone said he’s gonna have some sexy lips for a coupe days. We’ll make light of it. I’m not happy about it, just like [James] McCann, and the slider that bounced off J.D. [Davis’] foot, so you don’t like to see that.”
It was a scary moment for Alonso and the Mets, who are less than a year removed from watching Kevin Pillar get drilled in the face by a fastball, which resulted in surgery. But Alonso gave plenty of reason to believe that all was well after the game.
“I think the ball hit the chin strap, but that’s why we wear it,” Alonso said. “If I didn’t wear that, I’d probably be missing teeth.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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