The Baltimore Orioles headed into Wednesday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals hoping to close out a series win after pounding the home team 13-1 the night before.
Sitting at 64-68, Baltimore is hardly a lock for October baseball, yet the club remains within reach of an American League Wild Card spot and continues to treat every remaining series as meaningful.
Before first pitch, the Orioles announced a modest but noticeable tweak to their lineup.
Pete Alonso, who has spent most of the season at first base, would serve as the designated hitter while keeping his familiar second spot in the batting order. Samuel Basallo drew the start at first.
The rest of the order stayed largely intact: Jackson Holliday at second, Gunnar Henderson at short, Christian Encarnacion-Strand at third, Dylan Beavers in left, Leody Taveras in right, Colton Cowser in center, and Carlos Narváez catching. Kyle Bradish took the mound.
The move does not appear to signal any injury concern. Alonso has simply been given a day off his feet while remaining in the heart of the offense. In his first season wearing orange and black he has already logged 132 games and 496 at-bats.
The numbers are sturdy: a .276 average, 31 home runs, 24 doubles, and an OPS+ of 147. Should that adjusted production hold, it would be his best mark since his 2019 rookie campaign with the Mets.
In both 2024 and 2025 he played every one of the 162 scheduled games, so the occasional rest day this year is a small departure from recent habit.
Alonso’s power remains the most obvious reason he occupies such a prominent place in the order. The 31 homers have helped keep the Orioles’ attack relevant even as the team’s overall record has hovered around .500.
Giving him a night as DH also lets Basallo, a younger bat with his own raw tools, get work at first base without removing Alonso’s presence from the lineup.
Whether the change is a one-off or the start of a late-season pattern remains to be seen.
For one Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis, it was simply the Orioles’ way of balancing rest and production while they still have something to play for.
