Pete Alonso made his return to Citi Field last night and teased with a long fly ball to left field that hooked foul. He drew a walk that had Mets fans booing their own pitcher, starter Jonah Tong, and he stayed at 299 career home runs.

There’s always tonight.

“Honestly, it’s a little weird, but because we’re in the same building, there’s so much familiarity to it. It feels good,” Alonso told a huge media gathering outside the Orioles’ clubhouse.

“Obviously, I lived a lot of life here. It’s obviously really exciting to be back, and it’s really good to see all the guys and people over on the other side.”

The rest played out the same as Adley Rutschman’s return to Baltimore and so many others. The video tribute, the prolonged ovation and raising of the batting helmet during his first at-bat, the umpire delaying the game by moving away from the plate.

The Orioles are trying to delay elimination in the Wild Card race, using Gunnar Henderson’s eighth-inning home run last night to defeat the Mets 2-1. They crept within three games because the Guardians lost at home to the White Sox.

The regular season is down to 11 games and we don’t know when or if Félix Bautista is coming back from the 60-day injured list. He’s played in eight rehab games.

“We’re thinking through everything right now,” Albernaz told the media. “That’s one of the talking points, as well. Do we want to push him, as well? It’s a very fluid dynamic with Félix. We want to make sure we’re doing right by him and how he’s feeling and to make sure we don’t put him in harm’s way.”

We also don’t know if catcher Samuel Basallo will be shut down. The right shoulder is barking again and Basallo isn’t hitting. He’s 9-for-62 since returning from the injured list. Some of those at-bats Sunday also were painful.

Basallo wasn’t in last night’s lineup against a right-hander, but he pinch-hit with the go-ahead run at second base and two outs in the seventh inning and flied out. He batted again with runners on the corners in the ninth and struck out.

“We try to get him out of harm’s way as best we can,” Albernaz said. “He’s fighting to stay on the field. He wants to be out there and play and contribute and help us win.”

It’s probably best for Basallo to call it a season, but the club isn’t there yet.

“Yeah, it could be, for sure,” Albernaz said. “But right now Sammy wants to play and he’s our guy, so we’re going to stick by him and support him as best we can.”

Sitting Sammy would let him begin to heal and steer his attention to breaking camp as the lead catcher in 2027. The Orioles can figure out what to do at the backup position after trading for Carlos Narváez and claiming Yohel Pozo.

The infield is well-stocked, especially with Jordan Westburg’s anticipated return next season, and able to transform into many different combinations. But the outfield is a much more complicated puzzle.

Taylor Ward made the most starts in left field this season with 90, but he was traded at the deadline before reaching free agency. At best, he might have received a qualifying offer. The Orioles seemed ready to move on from him anyway.

Dylan Beavers is next with 38 starts, including the last seven games and 20 of 25. The other five are divided among Christian Franklin (two), Luis Robert Jr., Leody Taveras and Rece Hinds.

Franklin went on the injured list with a sore left hand and began his rehab assignment on Sunday. Robert lasted three games before straining his left hamstring. Hinds was acquired at the trade deadline in a cash transaction with the Marlins and recalled Sept. 6. Taveras has stayed on the roster all season but went into last night batting .219/.290/.346, and his return in 2027 isn’t assured.

Colton Cowser has made 67 starts in center, three more than Taveras. Franklin and Blaze Alexander are next with six each.

Tyler O’Neill is the leader in right field with 51, but he went on the injured list two more times this season – once for a concussion and once for a strained right rotator cuff – and hasn’t played since Aug. 22. He’s got another year remaining on his $49.5 million contract.

Taveras made 44 starts in right and Beavers made 26. Cowser was next with 18.

Heston Kjerstad cracked the lineup four times after finally being recalled on Sept. 1. He contributed an RBI double last night in the second inning and singled in the ninth for his first multi-hit game with the Orioles since June 3, 2025.

The Orioles could view the outfield as a platoon station, going left or right at all three positions. Alexander increases the versatility. But they shouldn’t stick the label on Beavers after parts of two major league seasons totaling 130 games.

Going into the Mets series, Beavers was slashing .264/.322/.321 in 60 plate appearances against left-handers. He didn’t have a home run, but he certainly could defend himself at the least. He posted a .381 on-base percentage against them in Triple-A in 2025 and batted .276/.374/.352 against them in Double-A and Triple-A in 2024.

Maybe he shares time in right with O’Neill, or he becomes the regular in left. The Orioles could bring in an outsider, which they did with Ward by trading Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels.

Cowser’s defense is valued and sorely needed, but he hasn’t gotten back to the 2024 offensive version that made him runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting, and that could keep him from playing every day. He was 7-for-48 with 25 strikeouts against left-handers before arriving at Citi Field.

Former first-round draft pick Enrique Bradfield Jr. didn’t make the expanded roster and time is running out on the chance to debut this month. He’ll try again in spring training, having an edge with his speed and defense. Kjerstad will be out of options and maybe out the door if the Orioles can’t carry him.

Taveras’ lack of hitting and inconsistent play in center field make his return questionable. Franklin could be a right-handed bat, or president of baseball operations Mike Elias could aim much higher, which he did with Ward.

A crowded infield shouldn’t tempt anyone to consider Coby Mayo in right field or Jackson Holliday in center or anywhere else beyond where he normally plays. That would be foolish for a team that must improve defensively in 2027.