The Baltimore Orioles entered Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians looking to build on a much-needed win and halt a slide that had begun to threaten their place in the American League Wild Card picture.
After taking Monday’s contest 6-4 and ending a six-game losing streak, the club posted its lineup for the series’ middle game and made one of the more notable placement decisions of the week: Pete Alonso would bat second and start at first base, via Underdog MLB.
That slotting placed the veteran slugger immediately behind Jackson Holliday and ahead of Gunnar Henderson, with Coby Mayo serving as the designated hitter.
The rest of the order featured Samuel Basallo behind the plate, Dylan Beavers in left, Blaze Alexander at third, Colton Cowser in center, and Leody Taveras in right, with Brandon Young on the mound.
In a season defined by inconsistency, the choice to give Alonso a prominent spot in the order reflected a desire to generate early offense against a Guardians team that has been among the more reliable clubs in the league.
Manager Craig Albernaz did not pretend the recent stretch had been anything other than difficult. He acknowledged that the Orioles had been “falling on our faces,” yet he also pointed to the team’s habit of finding ways to stay in contention after similar slumps earlier in the year.
With only a few weeks remaining in the regular season, that resilience is now the only path left. A handful of strong series would still be enough to climb back into the mix; another prolonged slump would likely end those hopes.
Alonso himself framed the offensive struggles in straightforward terms. The team, he said, needed to do a better job of attacking pitches in the zone and refusing to chase.
Getting back to basics—shrinking the strike zone in hitters’ counts and capitalizing when pitchers miss over the heart of the plate—would be the surest way to generate the runs that have been missing.
Pitcher Chris Bassitt struck a similar note, declining to assign specific blame and instead insisting that the club simply had to start winning the games that remain.
Cleveland presents a stern test. The Guardians have been solid for most of the season, and taking even one more game from them would carry extra weight for a Baltimore roster that has talent but has too often failed to sustain it.
The lineup posted Tuesday is an attempt to put the team’s most proven power threat in a position to set the tone early. Whether that decision produces the kind of consistent production the Orioles need will be measured over the coming weeks, not in a single night.
For now, the club is still fighting, still believing a late surge is possible, and still putting Alonso in the middle of that effort.
