Frank Franklin Ii/Associated Press
As day cooled into night at Yankee Stadium, Pete Alonso, the Mets first baseman, settled into the batter’s box and waited for just the right heat to come his way during the top of the first inning.
Yankees pitcher James Paxton started him with a knuckle curve, followed with a four-seam fastball and watched Alonso foul off three straight pitches.
Paxton tried to bait Alonso with a ball in the dirt, but the tenderfoot proved patient. Finally, on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, a high fastball spun toward Alonso at a speed of 95 miles per hour, he swung.