BALTIMORE, Md. — Pete Alonso hit his 41st home run of the season Wednesday as the Baltimore Orioles closed out their home schedule with a 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the first game of a doubleheader at Camden Yards.
Wednesday's twin bill was necessitated by Tuesday's rainout.
Alonso, in his first season with the Orioles, became just the ninth player in franchise history to hit 40 home runs in a season. He was unanimously voted the 2026 Most Valuable Oriole by the local media, including me.
Despite his standout individual season, Alonso said the team fell short of its goals.
"What we put out there wasn't good enough and I just want to win and I want to do whatever it takes to do that. The amount of talent in the room is off the charts but the performance was lackluster for us over the course of time. We will be better and I'll be hellbent on reflecting and providing input," Alonso said.
Manager Craig Albernaz said Alonso's drive to win extends beyond his own performance.
"He wants to go out there and produce for the team, but he also wants everyone around him to do the same thing. And we wants to help, he wants to pull everyone in the right direction for the team and to win games and when you have that person with that track record, that baseball card, it moves the needle in that clubhouse," Albernaz said.
Baltimore got on the board early when Jeremiah Jackson singled home Christian Encarnacion-Strand for the game's first run, the Orioles would lead 2-0 after the second inning.
Two innings later, Alonso ripped a fastball into the Orioles bullpen for his 41st home run of the season, doubling Baltimore's lead to 4-0.
That was all the offense the Orioles needed. Starting pitcher Chris Bassitt said Alonso deserves recognition as one of the best players in the game.
"Listen I love Pete, I know I'm a Baltimore Oriole but like Pete deserves MVP votes and he deserves them every single year. That's the reality. He's one of the most underappreciated players in our game. Pete just held the standard what he's done for years. It's Pete being Pete," Bassitt said.
The Orioles began Wednesday technically still alive in the playoff race, but a postseason berth in Baltimore in 2026 is not expected to materialize.
Baltimore is scheduled to close the season with a three-game series in New York against the Yankees. After that, an uncertain offseason awaits, with potential roster changes and an impending lockout that could affect how much baseball, if any, gets played in 2027.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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