BALTIMORE -- The song “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire played from the Camden Yards loudspeakers each time Pete Alonso stepped to the plate on Monday night.
“Do you remember, the 21st night of September?”
Alonso remembers the night of Sept. 21, 2025, quite well. It was when he became a father, with his wife, Haley, giving birth to their son, Teddy.
“That was for him,” Alonso said of Monday’s musical shakeup. “That’s his birthday song.”
Celebrating Teddy’s first birthday, Alonso should always remember the night of Sept. 21, 2026, as well.
Alonso clubbed his 39th and 40th homers of his first season and lifted the Orioles to a series-opening 4-3 comeback win over the Blue Jays. The 31-year-old slugger’s second blast was a go-ahead two-run shot with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Happy Birthday to Teddy, indeed.
“It's obviously special,” Alonso said. “Hopefully, we can bookmark this game. I know it doesn’t matter now, because he’s not going to understand it for a couple years. But hopefully, a couple years down the line, I can kind of look back and just kind of bookmark this and keep it for the archives, and then hopefully, he appreciates it one day.”
Since signing a five-year, $155 million deal with the O’s last December, Alonso has been as advertised. He’s now almost singlehandedly keeping the team’s slim postseason hopes alive during the final week of the regular season.
The Orioles (76-81) have five games still to play in the regular season. They are 4 1/2 games back of the White Sox (80-76) for the third American League Wild Card spot, though they are also behind the Astros (77-79) and Blue Jays (77-80).
It would take an improbable run for the Orioles to reach the playoffs. But don’t tell Alonso that.
“I really love playing the game, and for me, I just want to be all I can be and do whatever I can every single night to win the game,” Alonso said. “I really take pride in wanting to win and giving it all I have every single night. It’s really, really awesome to be a part of this group, be a part of this team. I know where we’re at with the standings, but couldn’t be more proud to be an Oriole.”
The Polar Bear continues to carry Baltimore, which overcame a 3-0 first-inning deficit to win. Alonso’s first home run of the night was an opposite-field solo shot to the right-field flag court in the bottom of the first, then Gunnar Henderson swatted a solo homer in the sixth to cut it to 3-2.
With a runner on first and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, the Blue Jays inserted right-hander Tyler Rogers to face Alonso. After Alonso worked the count to 1-1, he pounced on a sinker left over the heart of the plate and jolted it a Statcast-projected 400 feet over the left-field wall.
Most home runs in a season in Orioles history (since 1954)
1. Chris Davis -- 53 in 2013, 47 in 2015)
2. Brady Anderson -- 50 in 1996
3. Frank Robinson -- 49 in 1966
T-4. Davis -- 47 in 2015
T-4. Mark Trumbo -- 47 in 2016
6. Jim Gentile -- 46 in 1961
7. Anthony Santander -- 44 in 2024
8. Rafael Palmeiro -- 43 in 1998
T-9. Nelson Cruz -- 40 in 2014
T-9. Alonso -- 40 in 2026
By driving in three more runs, Alonso boosted his AL-leading RBI total to 108. No other player in the AL has more than 99.
“His baseball card, his accolades, the track record is there,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Hitting 40 home runs and having over 100 RBIs in this league is really impressive, and the consistency with which he does it, that doesn't happen by accident. It’s just all the work he puts in behind the scenes.”
“It’s ridiculous,” said right-hander Shane Baz, who allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings. “He’s just one of the most consistent players I’ve ever seen, and I feel like that’s kind of the name of the game in the big leagues, is just being as consistent as possible.”
This is the fourth time Alonso has reached the 40-homer mark during his eight-year MLB career. But he has slugged at least 34 home runs in every season, with the exception of 2020, when he had 16 in the pandemic-shortened campaign.
Alonso had a bit of a slow start this year, hitting only three home runs over his first 28 games. Not only did he have to get acclimated to new surroundings, but he was also integrating fatherhood into his daily routine, which took some time to do.
“It’s like, ‘How do we get this down?’ Being husband, being dad, and then also being ready to my maximum capabilities by first pitch,” Alonso said. “Just a couple routine tweaks, and I feel like as the season has gone on, I feel like I’ve just been able to kind of refine that and get more and more in tune and in rhythm.”