On Tuesday night at Camden Yards, Pete Alonso and Gunnar Henderson came up with the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a tie game and both hit ground balls that did not leave the infield, ending Baltimore’s last realistic chance to win.
The misfires landed in the middle of a frustrating stretch. The Orioles entered the game 31-37, having dropped four in a row and sitting six games below.500. Alonso, 31, is at the center of the story off the field as well as on it — his five-year, $155 million deal is a team record — and Tuesday’s moment amplified questions about whether that commitment will age well.
Both plate appearances were straightforward failures: fastball counts that Alonso and Henderson were unable to drive. That inability to produce in clutch fastball situations has followed Alonso all season. With Adley Rutschman being given maximum rest and days off, Baltimore’s lineup has felt a pronounced void; Sam Huff was behind the plate again because Samuel Basallo and Rutschman have been dealing with injuries, and Alonso was listed at first base in the lineup.
The ninth-inning result also exposed a tactical mismatch. Baltimore’s small-ball approach and steady on-base work built the situation, but did not supply the one swing the team needed. The runs were manufactured into scoring position only to be snuffed by two routine grounders. That gap — getting runners into position but failing to convert in the key moment — has become a recurring flaw during this stretch.
Wednesday’s matchup will do little to ease the pressure. The Orioles were scheduled to host the Seattle Mariners at 6:35 p.m., with Brandon Young on the mound for Baltimore. The Mariners planned to send George Kirby, who has struggled recently and carried a 7.29 ERA over his last four starts; it is the kind of start that could have opened a window for Baltimore’s offense, if the club could cash in late.
The practical consequence is now urgent. Baltimore invested a record sum in Alonso to be a middle-of-the-order run producer. If he continues to miss in high-leverage fastball counts, the club will be forced toward the choice long hinted at by roster talk: preserve Alonso’s bat by shifting him toward a designated-hitter role and search for production elsewhere in the lineup. That is not a theoretical debate any longer — it is a response to a season in which a big contract, an injured primary catcher and a stretch of losses have collided.
Tuesday’s ninth left a clear question for the Orioles as they turn to Wednesday’s game: can Alonso and Henderson reverse their clutch struggles before the margin for error in this 31-37 season evaporates entirely? How they answer in the coming days will determine whether the $155 million bet remains a centerpiece of Baltimore’s lineup or the prelude to retooling around a DH future for Alonso.
