Major League Baseball names batting championships for Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn - MLB

SAN DIEGO — One last bit of unfinished business from last night’s All-Star Game involves an announcement from Major League Baseball that, while it won’t likely change the way we refer to a batting championship, was a nice gesture all the same.

Before the game, Major League Baseball announced that each league’s batting championships have been named in honor of a great-hitting Hall of Famer: Tony Gwynn in the National League and Rod Carew in the American League. Carew was on hand for the announcement at the ballpark last night. It was great to see him given his recent health problems. The late Gwynn was represented by his family.

Gwynn was a career .338 hitter who was the last man to seriously challenge .400, batting .394 in the strike-shortened 1994 season. He is tied with Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates for the most batting titles in NL history. Carew was a seven-time American League batting champion who was a lifetime .328 hitter. He hit .300 in 15 consecutive seasons (1969-83). Between 1972-1978, he won six batting crowns in seven years.

No, it’s not likely people will routinely say things like “Hey, Jose Altuve won the Carew Award!” But it’s a nice gesture all the same. The crowd at Petco cheered Carew loudly last night and cheered the calling of Gwynn’s name wildly. It was a nice moment.

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PITTSBURGH — The New York Mets will have to dig out of an early-season hole without star first baseman Pete Alonso.

The leading home run hitter in the majors will miss three-to-four weeks with a bone bruise and a sprain in his left wrist.

The Mets placed Alonso on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to June 8. Alonso was hit in the wrist by a 96 mph fastball from Charlie Morton in the first inning of a 7-5 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.

Alonso traveled to New York for testing on Thursday. X-rays revealed no broken bones, but the Mets will be missing one of the premier power hitters in the game as they try to work their way back into contention in the NL East.

“We got better news than it could have been,” New York manager Buck Showalter said. “So we take that as a positive. It could have been worse.”

New York had lost six straight heading into a three-game series at Pittsburgh that began Friday. Mark Canha started at first for the Mets in the opener. Mark Vientos could also be an option, though Showalter said the coaching staff may have to use its “imagination” in thinking of ways to get by without Alonso.

“I’m not going to say someone has to step up and all that stuff,” Showalter said. “You’ve just got to be who you are.”

Even with Alonso in the lineup, the Mets have struggled to score consistently. New York is 16th in the majors in runs scored.

The team also said Friday that reliever Edwin Uceta had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Uceta initially went on the IL in April with what the team called a sprained left ankle. He is expected to be out for at least an additional eight weeks.

New York recalled infielder Luis Guillorme and left-handed reliever Zach Muckenhirn from Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets sent catcher Tomás Nido to Triple-A and designated reliever Stephen Nogosek for assignment.

Nogosek is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in 13 games this season.