Pete Alonso had Camden Yards buzzing, then had it taken away in a flash.
In the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday against the Yankees, the Orioles’ first baseman launched a towering drive down the left-field line in a tie game, tossed his bat, pointed to the sky and started down the first-base line like he knew he’d just delivered the knockout blow. Then third-base umpire Will Little ruled it foul, and the reaction around the Orioles’ dugout said everything.
The play went to replay review, but the decision on the field survived. Alonso, clearly frustrated, went back into the box and struck out to finish the inning. Baltimore never recovered, dropping a 5-3 decision after New York scored twice in the top of the eighth.
The ball came off Alonso’s bat at 107.1 mph after he got all of a first-pitch slider from left-hander Brent Headrick. Statcast projected it at 410 feet, and it looked for a moment like it had hooked just inside the foul pole.
Instead, MLB’s Replay Operations Center in New York said there wasn’t enough to overturn the call. The league explained it this way: “After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official could not definitively determine that the ball left the playing field in fair territory. The call stands, and it is a foul ball.”
The lost home run would have been Alonso’s second of the night. He already had a Statcast-projected 423-foot opposite-field solo shot to right-center in the third inning, a blast that looked like it might be the start of a huge night and, maybe, a huge Orioles moment. It also would have been his 30th homer of his first season in Baltimore.
Instead, the game tilted the other direction. Orioles right-hander Cam Sanders put the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the eighth with a walk and two hit-by-pitches. Yennier Cano then came in with two outs and allowed a go-ahead RBI infield single to George Lombard Jr., before Jazz Chisholm Jr. scored from third on Cano’s wild pitch to add another run.
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Gunnar Henderson Has Become A Worrying Sign For The Orioles
Gunnar Henderson has been one of the faces of the Orioles young core, so any hint of regression lands with extra weight in Baltimore. MLB Network analyst Dan ODowd recently raised alarms about Hendersons direction, pointing to a decline in both his hitting and defense since the 2025 All-Star break and framing it as more than a temporary slump. For a team built around internal development, concerns like that naturally spill beyond one player and into the broader question of how the Orioles are shaping their talent.
ODowd went a step further by suggesting the organization, under Mike Elias, may not be getting the most out of Hendersons ability. He even floated the idea that the shortstop could be traded by 2027, while also recommending changes to the developmental setup, including bringing in Bill Ripken as an infield coordinator and perhaps involving Buck Showalter in some role. Whether Baltimore takes any of that seriously is another matter, but the conversation underscores how important Henderson remains to the franchises future and how quickly expectations can shift when a cornerstone player starts to look off track. [Read more 🡒]
Gunnar Henderson Might Finally Have The Fix Orioles Fans Needed
Gunnar Hendersons recent slide had become one of the quieter concerns around Camden Yards, especially for a lineup that leans on him to help set the tone. So the sight of Pete Alonso spending time with Henderson in practice, working through batting mechanics and zeroing in on lower-half posture and hip stability, offered a different kind of development for Orioles fans to track. It is the sort of behind-the-scenes tweak that can matter as much as any box score, particularly when a young hitter is trying to regain the timing that made him one of the clubs most important bats.
What makes the collaboration notable is the source of the advice, with Alonso drawing on his own experience to help Henderson sort out the issues that have made fastballs such a stubborn problem this season. Henderson has shown signs of improvement lately after the prolonged slump, but the work points to a more specific fix than a simple hot streak. For Baltimore, the appeal is obvious: if the changes hold, the Orioles might finally be getting closer to the version of Henderson they have been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Prospect Suddenly Has A Real Shot To Fill Key Bullpen Need
Luis De Len has become one of the more interesting arms in the Orioles system this summer, and not just because of his prospect status. Baltimore is moving him into a relief role at Triple-A Norfolk, a shift that gives the organization a chance to see whether his stuff can translate quickly to a bullpen setting and possibly help fill a need later in the season.
De Len already made his first relief appearance recently, and he has impressed in both Double-A and Triple-A this year, which is why the transition is worth watching closely. Manager Craig Albernaz has been upbeat about De Lens talent and what he could bring to the club, and if the adjustment keeps going well, the Orioles may have found a candidate for the bullpen without having to look far outside the system. [Read more 🡒]