Pete Alonso appears to escape injury after getting hit by James Paxton pitch

NEW YORK (AP) — Mets star Pete Alonso appeared to escape injury after getting hit on the right hand by a 93 mph fastball from Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher James Paxton.

Alonso was hit on the middle knuckle Wednesday and left the game. He said an X-ray and bone scan on Wednesday night and an MRI on Thursday didn’t detect any breaks.

“I really feel like I got lucky and dodged a bullet, so I’m just really happy that it’s just going to be day to day,” Alonso said Thursday.

Alonso said swelling remained. He took fielding practice at Citi Field but was not in the starting lineup for a series opener against Arizona and it was not determined whether he would be available off the bench.

A three-time All-Star, Alonso has been hit by pitches 76 times over six major league seasons. Getting hit on a hand is worrisome.

“Every time it happens, it’s really different because there’s a bunch of small bones, tissue, ligaments and nerves and stuff,” he said. “As it happens, it all hurts and you really don’t know until what the imaging tells you.”

In his last season before free-agent eligibility, the 29-year-old Alonso is hitting .231 with 12 homers and 26 RBIs. Alonso set a rookie record of 53 home runs in 2019, when he was voted NL Rookie of the Year. He has a .249 career average with 204 homers and 524 RBIs.

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