Deep in the winter, when Pete Alonso first agreed to move down the Eastern Seaboard from New York to Baltimore, this is what these fans would have imagined — a deep blast, a skip out of the box, a home run for the Orioles.
Alonso is so much more than a home run hitter, but there is no ignoring the blasts that fly off his bat at regular intervals. And it took him just five games for the first of those to occur at Camden Yards.
“It was good to see him get into one,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “I’m sure he felt good to kind of get that.”
Against his former Mets teammate Jacob deGrom, Alonso squared up a low-and-inside fastball. He thrashed it and sent it flying 400 feet into the Orioles’ bullpen in left-center field. It was his second hit of the game, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Only moments earlier, right-hander Zach Eflin departed with right elbow discomfort. The worry over his health will continue, but Alonso’s well-timed solo shot tied the game and gave life to the crowd — at least until the bullpen conceded the lead once more and Baltimore fell to the Rangers, 8-5.
“Felt good. Felt really good today,” Alonso said. “I’m glad to get the first one out of the way and the swing felt really good today and I’m glad to connect with one, especially in that spot in the ballgame, tie it back up and get us back in there.”
As Alonso rounded third base, he brought his thumbs together and wiggled his fingers in the wing-flapping celebration that Adley Rutschman recommended the Orioles debut.
Alonso packs power in his bat. He is a two-time Home Run Derby champion, but he also brings it in games that matter. He burst onto the scene with a record-setting 53 homers as a rookie in 2019, and Alonso has never hit fewer than 34 homers in a full season.
Last year, Alonso’s final one in Queens, he played all 162 games and produced an .871 on-base-plus-slugging percentage with 38 homers and 41 doubles. The Orioles expect a similar level of impact for this lineup, and while the offense hasn’t clicked frequently this season, Alonso got on the home run board against deGrom.
“He’s one of the best to ever do it,” Alonso said. “And, yeah, I’m just really, really pleased that today was my day, but I know that most days, not as fortunate. He’s one of the best to do it. I’m happy it went in my favor today.”
Alonso wasn’t alone in having a strong offensive day. Gunnar Henderson and Taylor Ward each hit two-run doubles, and Ward produced a career-high four hits. But even with Baltimore chasing deGrom in the fifth inning, the runs against the Orioles’ bullpen left too large a hole for a comeback.