ARLINGTON -- Pete Alonso didn’t need to say much Sunday. He let the bat do the talking.
In his first multihomer game as an Oriole, Alonso powered Baltimore to a 10-5 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field, helping the club stop a three-game skid and salvage the finale of the series. Both of his home runs were two-run shots, one in the second inning and another in the fourth.
Alonso finished 3-for-3 with two walks, three runs scored and four RBIs. The performance gave him 27 career multihomer games, tying him for third among active players behind Aaron Judge, who has 40, and Kyle Schwarber, who has 35. It also marked the seventh time in Alonso’s eight-year career that he has reached 25 home runs; he hit 16 in just 57 games during the Covid-shortened 2020 season.
His impact started before the homers even arrived. After Alonso singled in the first inning, he hustled from first to third on Jackson Holliday’s hit into the gap, helping turn it into a double. Alonso and Holliday both came around to score later.
Colton Cowser opened the scoring with a leadoff homer in the second to put Baltimore ahead 3-0. Three batters later, Alonso turned on a Kumar Rocker slider and sent a Statcast-projected 393-foot drive to left. The ball hit halfway up the left-field foul pole.
Baltimore still had to weather a rough stretch from spot starter Cade Povich, who allowed three runs in the third inning and did not come back out for the fourth. Povich, who is likely headed to the Minor Leagues when Chris Bassitt returns to the rotation from the IL, struggled with command throughout the outing.
Alonso answered again in the fourth, this time against Rangers reliever Jordan Montgomery. His 404-foot blast to left-center came on a full count and landed in the Orioles bullpen, not far from warming reliever Yaramil Hiraldo.
Hiraldo picked up the win with two scoreless innings and three strikeouts.
In Other News...
Orioles May Have Found A Bigger Catcher Piece Than Fans Realized
Carlos Narvaez arrived in Baltimore at the trade deadline with the kind of profile that can be easy to overlook in the moment, especially next to a catcher like Samuel Basallo who carries so much of the long-term buzz. But the Orioles clearly see Narvaez as more than just depth. Manager Craig Albernaz has already singled out Narvaez for his preparation and defensive work, the sort of traits that matter when a club is trying to settle a young pitching staff and keep the game organized behind the plate.
The bigger picture is that Baltimore does not appear interested in asking Basallo to shoulder everything at catcher right away, which opens the door for Narvaez to play a meaningful role over the next two years. In that sense, the move may have been less about finding a backup and more about giving the Orioles a catcher who can help ease Basallo into the job while still handling real innings of his own. For a team thinking beyond the present, that kind of arrangement can end up mattering more than the flashier headline. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Prospect Bats Just Kept Making Baltimores Depth Hard To Ignore
The Orioles farm system kept giving Baltimore more to think about as Enddy Azocar turned in the kind of night that gets noticed up and down an organization. Named the Orioles Hangout MiLB Player of the Day, Azocar went 3-for-5 for the Keys with a double, a home run, four runs scored, three RBIs and a walk, another reminder that the club has several bats pushing for attention at the same time.
Norfolk had its own offensive bright spots even in a 9-3 loss to the Buffalo Bisons, with Creed Willems leaving the yard and Randal Diaz collecting three hits, including two doubles and a home run. The pitching side included work from Michael Forret, Carson Dorsey, Cohen Achen and Esteban Mejia, but the bigger picture for Baltimore is becoming harder to ignore: the organization keeps finding more position players producing in bunches, and the depth chart is starting to look crowded in a good way. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Just Changed Their Farm System In A Way Fans Will Feel
The Orioles spent the deadline reshaping both their big-league roster and the pipeline behind it, and the changes were broad enough to be felt well beyond the clubhouse. Baltimore sent catchers Adley Rutschman and Jake Rogers to Boston in exchange for Carlos Narvez and three prospects, then swung another deal to bring pitcher Michael Forret back from Tampa Bay, while also moving outfielder Taylor Ward for three right-handed pitchers.
For a franchise that has spent plenty of time talking about balance between now and later, these moves clearly tilted the organization deeper into the pitching side of the ledger. The major league roster changed, the minor league depth chart changed, and the farm system now looks heavier on arms than it did before, which is the sort of shift fans will notice as soon as the next wave of prospects starts moving up through the system. [Read more 🡒]