Pete Alonso gave Baltimore one more September jolt Monday night, launching two home runs—including the deciding two-run drive in the eighth inning—as the Orioles rallied past Toronto, 4-3, at Camden Yards.
Baltimore trailed 3-0 before Alonso began the comeback with a solo homer to the opposite field in the first. Gunnar Henderson tightened the game with a sixth-inning solo shot, then Alonso took over again when the game reached its late, tight innings.
Alonso reaches 40, delivers the winning swing
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth and a runner aboard, Toronto brought in right-hander Tyler Rogers to face Alonso. The count reached 1-1 before Rogers left a sinker over the middle of the plate. Alonso drove it out to left field, a projected 400-foot blast that put the Orioles ahead for good.
The second homer was Alonso’s 40th of the season, following his 39th earlier in the game. At 31, he became the ninth Orioles hitter in the club’s history since 1954 to post a 40-homer season.
He also supplied all three Baltimore RBIs, pushing his American League-leading total to 108. No other AL hitter has reached 100; the next-highest total is 99.
A late push still has steep odds
The win moved the Orioles to 76-81 with five regular-season games remaining. They remain 4 1/2 games behind the White Sox, who are 80-76 and hold the third American League Wild Card position. Baltimore also has Houston, at 77-79, and Toronto, at 77-80, ahead of it in the chase.
The road to October is a narrow one, and Baltimore will need help along with a strong finish. For one night, though, Alonso made sure the Orioles stayed in the fight, turning an early three-run hole into a win with two swings that carried the kind of weight September baseball demands.
