BALTIMORE -- This one was clearly fair. No doubt about it, and no replay review needed.
Two nights after Pete Alonso thought he had hit his 30th home run of the season -- until his towering fly ball over the left-field pole was called foul, then stood following a review -- the Polar Bear reached the milestone in a big way. His go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning lifted the Orioles to a series-opening 5-3 win over the Rays on Friday at Camden Yards.
Not only was Alonso’s latest home run well within play, but it traveled a Statcast-projected 443 feet to deep left-center field, his longest of the year. His previous long was a 439-footer against the Mariners on June 11.
Alonso became the seventh active MLB player to post seven seasons with 30-plus homers, joining Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Manny Machado, Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout and Kyle Schwarber (who has eight). Alonso, Schwarber and Shohei Ohtani are the only ones to hit 30 or more in each of the past six years.
“Great, sure, awesome,” Alonso said of reaching the mark yet again. “But at the end of the day, I just want to win games."
It’s been quite a debut season in Baltimore for Alonso, who signed a five-year, $155 million contract this past offseason. He’s been as advertised in so many ways -- from the offense to the leadership to the team-first mentality. He’s been better than expected in others, such as his defense at first base and sporadic bursts of surprising speed.
But Alonso is never one to gloat about himself or his accomplishments. Others in the O’s clubhouse, however, are always ready to heap praise on the guy.
“All I can say is I’m glad it’s me not pitching against him anymore and I can sit in the dugout and actually enjoy homers when he hits them,” said left-hander Trevor Rogers, who allowed three runs in seven strong innings. “He’s a special player, a special human. I’m glad that he’s in this clubhouse, and he’s been playing some unbelievable baseball for us, and hopefully, that’ll continue for him."
The 31-year-old Alonso is only the fourth free-agent signee in franchise history to club 30 homers in his first year with the team, joining Albert Belle (37 in 1999), Miguel Tejada (34 in 2004) and Nelson Cruz (40 in ‘14).
“It’s so much fun, to be honest with you,” manager Craig Albernaz said of watching the slugger on a nightly basis. “Obviously, that big blow was impressive, especially how hard he hit it, where he hit it in the pitch location. It’s impressive watching him day in and day out, just with his prep and just as the teammate and person he is.”
On Friday, Alonso also got the Orioles’ offense started, knocking a first-inning RBI single to extend his hitting streak to a career-long 13 games. He is hitting .480 (24-for-50) with two doubles, seven home runs and 14 RBIs during that span.
“In 2025, I honed in on a really good routine and systems to kind of keep me good, keep me consistent. I feel like those systems and preparedness and systems and studying, you’re seeing the fruits of the labor,” Alonso said. “I feel like, as the year has gone on, I’ve been able to kind of just get in the groove, find a groove and then really just kind of rely on those.”
Of those 13 straight games Alonso has collected hits, five have been against Tampa Bay.
“Pete Alonso is a special hitter and certainly on a heater right now, and really capitalizing against us,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
Tampa Bay took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth, when Baltimore put runners on the corners with no outs against right-hander Freddy Peralta. With one out in the inning, Jackson Holliday appeared to strike out swinging, as it seemed he didn’t hold back a check swing. Holliday was walking back to the first-base dugout when third-base umpire Dillon Wilson signaled that Holliday had held up.
Cash did not agree with the call and got ejected after voicing his displeasure. Then, Holliday stepped back into the batter’s box and tied the game at 3 with a sac fly to center field. Alonso immediately followed with his go-ahead 111 mph blast.
The Orioles (62-67) snapped a four-game losing streak, and they remain in the thick of a crowded American League Wild Card race. They have won seven of their past eight meetings with the AL East-rival Rays, who are an AL-best 76-52.
And for Alonso, the team’s performance is what matters, not personal accolades.
“I don’t care, I just want to win,” Alonso said. “Whatever I can do offensively, defensively, running the bags, doing the little things right, I just want to win ballgames. That’s all it is.”