Pete Alonso’s miscue in the seventh inning on Sept. 8 may end up sitting near the top of the Orioles’ regret pile if this season slips away.
Baltimore was down by one in its matchup with the Cleveland Guardians when the inning turned sideways. With two on and one out, Alonso made a throwing mistake that caromed off Jo Adell’s helmet and rolled into the outfield.
One run scored on the play, then two more followed, and suddenly the Orioles were staring at a four-run hole that proved too steep to climb. Baltimore still took the series, but the chance at a sweep that could have changed the shape of its season was gone.
The play was the kind of moment that leaves coaches muttering the same lesson everyone hears as a kid: “Always take the sure out!” Alonso had a simpler option right there - step on first, collect the second out, move on.
Instead, he tried to turn it into a double play. It wasn’t necessarily the wrong idea so much as the riskier one, and in a season this tight, that difference can loom large.
That one sequence has landed in the middle of a rough September for Baltimore. Even after winning the series against Cleveland, the Orioles are just 2-7 this month.
As of Sept. 10, they’ve slipped back in the Wild Card race and sit three games behind the Guardians. The gap isn’t impossible, but it does leave them without full control of their own path.
The frustrating part for Baltimore is how much promise the season had been showing only weeks earlier. After a rocky start, the Orioles put together a strong July and August, going 30-21 over those two months. The offense started to come alive, the pitching settled in, and even after trading away several key players at the deadline, the team kept pushing and looked like a real postseason threat.
Now, though, the same problems have resurfaced. Mistakes are piling up, the offense has cooled, and the Orioles are running out of time to correct course. With a little more than a dozen games left, the margin for error is nearly gone, and Alonso’s play against Cleveland could end up as one of the season’s defining “what if” moments.
In Other News...
Orioles Front Office Change Raises Bigger Questions During Wild Card Push
Matt Blood is no longer with the Orioles organization, a notable change in the front office while the club is trying to stay in the postseason race. Blood, who was promoted to vice president of player and staff development in November, had been a key part of Mike Elias operation since being hired in 2019 and worked through several roles, including director of player development and vice president of player development and domestic scouting.
The move comes amid a stretch of recent front office promotions for Baltimore, but it also arrives with the team still three games back in the chase for the last Wild Card spot. For an Orioles club trying to balance long-term stability with the urgency of the standings, the timing only sharpens the questions around how the organization is handling both its present push and its future structure. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Win Came With Another Injury Scare They Couldnt Afford
The Orioles got the kind of win that should have brought relief, but the night still carried the uneasy feeling that has followed this team for much of the season. Brandon Youngs frustration after the loss was understandable after Baltimore gave up eight runs in the third inning, and the lineup and defense were already being stretched thin by the injuries that have thinned the roster, including absences for Luis Robert Jr., Tyler ONeill and Samuel Basallo.
Gunnar Hendersons injury during the game only added to the anxiety, especially with the Orioles already making unusual defensive adjustments just to keep the pieces in place. For a club trying to stay afloat through all the uncertainty, every new scare feels bigger than a single game, and this one left Baltimore waiting to learn how much more damage it might have to absorb. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Brought Michael Forret Back For A Reason
Michael Forrets return to the Orioles was the sort of deadline move that only makes sense if the organization still believes there is real value left to unlock. A right-hander Baltimore originally drafted, Forret was shipped to the Rays in December 2025 and brought back at the 2026 trade deadline, a reminder that the Orioles never fully closed the book on him. He is now assigned to Triple-A Norfolk, where the next step has been less about change of scenery and more about getting his body back in position to matter.
Forret is currently on the injured list with a left hip impingement, but Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said the pitcher is close to being ready for a major league call-up. That creates a fairly obvious follow-up question for Baltimore: whether the club sees him as immediate depth, a longer-term bullpen piece or something more than either of those. For now, the Orioles have at least positioned him back in the system and near the point where the decision-making gets more interesting. [Read more 🡒]