Bradish struggles with breaking ball; Cowser, Alonso star in O's loss

TORONTO -- The Orioles continue to have plenty of pop in their bats of late. However, three more home runs weren’t enough to rally for a come-from-behind win on Saturday afternoon.

Despite a trio of long balls from Colton Cowser, Pete Alonso and Blaze Alexander, Baltimore took a 6-4 loss to Toronto at Rogers Centre. The O’s (31-34) lost for only the fifth time in 15 contests, and they’ll look to bounce back and win the series in Sunday’s rubber game.

Here are three notable takeaways from Saturday’s action.

1. Kyle Bradish couldn’t command his breaking pitches
The slider and curveball have been two of Bradish’s best pitches this season. And the 29-year-old right-hander had been commanding both well of late, leading to impressive results over his previous five starts (a 1.72 ERA in 31 1/3 innings).

But Bradish’s breaking stuff wasn’t as sharp on Saturday, when he allowed a season-high-tying five runs over four innings in a loss.

“I didn’t have my best feel for it. That and the slider, they weren’t that good today,” Bradish said. “You’ve still got to throw it.”

The Blue Jays scored four runs in the third, with most of the damage coming via Ernie Clement’s three-run homer on a mislocated slider over the heart of the plate.

It’s unlikely this will become a long-term issue for Bradish, who has again been one of the Orioles’ best starters and should fare better moving forward.

“He wasn't as sharp and as crisp as he has been,” manager Craig Albernaz said.

2. Cowser avoids injury on scary collision
In the fifth, Clement hit a one-out triple to right field that Cowser couldn’t quite track down, as the 26-year-old crashed hard into the wall on the play. Cowser said a nerve flared up and his left hand “went numb for a second,” but he stayed in the game after getting checked over by a trainer and Albernaz.

“It took a little bit longer than it normally does whenever that happens,” Cowser said, “so it’s OK.”

On the next play, Cowser was involved in the action again, as he successfully made a nice lunging catch on a fly ball off the bat of Brandon Valenzuela.

“I was fortunate enough to get a good break on it and run it down,” Cowser said. “I was tested right away pretty quickly.”

“He did a great job of making the next play,” Albernaz added, “going out there and ranging to make that catch.”

Cowser continues to play well after a slow start to the season. His homer was a Statcast-projected 427-foot solo shot in the second -- his fifth home run of the season (all coming since May 17) and his fourth in his past 14 games.

Although Cowser isn’t starting when Baltimore faces left-handers, he’s making the most of his opportunities, hitting .348 (16-for-46) over his past 19 games.

3. More oppo power for the Polar Bear
You won’t be surprised to learn where Alonso’s two-run homer in the sixth landed.

Once again, the Polar Bear went to the opposite field, blasting a home run to right-center. Of Alonso’s 13 home runs this season, eight have gone the opposite way.

That total is the second highest of any season in Alonso’s eight-year MLB career. In 2025, 10 of his 38 home runs for the Mets went to the opposite field.

“I’ve always had the ability to hit the ball hard,” Alonso said earlier this month. “I know how in this game, a lot of people, you’ve got to pull the ball in the air. For me, I don’t have to, luckily, because I’ve always had that ability to stay within a ball and hit it hard to all parts of the field.”

Alonso has heated up, serving as the middle-of-the-order power bat the O’s expected him to be when they signed him to a five-year, $155 million deal during the offseason. The 31-year-old slugger has a 10-game hitting streak, during which he is batting .317 (13-for-41).