Pete Alonso falls in Home Run Derby; Guerrero Jr. wins it

Mets star Pete Alonso met the ultimate buzzsaw at Monday’s MLB Home Run Derby, where he was quickly eliminated after a historic performance by Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez.

Swinging in front of his hometown crowd at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, Rodriguez slugged a whopping 41 home runs in the first round to defeat Alonso, who hit 21. The 41 homers set a new record for a single round, but that pace proved unsustainable, and Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ultimately won the derby.

Guerrero hit 25 homers in the final to beat Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena, who hit 23. The younger Guerrero follows his father, former Expos and Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero, who won the event in 2007.

It’s the second consecutive year Rodriguez eliminated Alonso, who won the Home Run Derby in 2019 and 2021. The annual contest didn’t take place during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Alonso, 28, had hoped to join Ken Griffey Jr. as the only players to win three Home Run Derby crowns.

This year’s derby once again featured eight participants, with head-to-head matchups determining which players advanced.

Batters were given 3 ½ minutes to hit as many home runs as possible during the first and second rounds. They could add 30 seconds of bonus time if they hit two homers of at least 440 feet within the first three minutes of both rounds. The final round gave batters 2 ½ minutes apiece before the bonus.

Seeding was decided by how many home runs each player had hit by July 4. Alonso, who has 26 homers this season, entered as the No. 2 seed. Rodriguez, who has 13, was the No. 7 seed.

But Rodriguez, 22, proved as a rookie last year that he’s a tough draw. He advanced to the 2022 final after hitting more than 30 homers in each of the first two rounds, before he lost to Juan Soto.

On Monday, Rodriguez tossed his bat and unleashed a scream after his 41st homer of the first round. He only managed 20 homers in the second round, however, and fell to Guerrero, who stopped at 21.

Guerrero, 24, held the previous single-round record of 40 home runs, which he set in 2019. He hit 26 homers in the first round Monday, easily clearing Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts, who only hit 11.

Arozarena, meanwhile, advanced to the final after hitting 24 home runs in the first round to eliminate Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia, and 35 home runs in the second round to defeat top-seeded White Sox outfielder Luis Robert.

One of the night’s highlights saw Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman, who grew up in nearby Portland, blast 27 homers with his father pitching. The switch-hitter, who took swings from both sides of the plate Monday, fell to Robert in the first round.

Alonso led all MLB players with 22 home runs before he was hit in the left wrist by a Charlie Morton pitch on June 7. A stint on the injured list followed, and Alonso has only hit four home runs since his June 18 return.

Alonso and starting pitcher Kodai Senga will be the Mets’ only representatives at Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game, which is also set to take place at T-Mobile Park.