Thirty. For the sixth time
Pete Alonso launched his 30th ball over the wall on Friday night. That makes six straight seasons with at least 30 homers. Some players put together good years. He stacks up decades.
The homer came at the right time. Baltimore had dropped four straight. The Orioles beat Tampa Bay 5-3 and stopped the bleeding.
What came before Alonso’s blast was worth a look. Rays manager Kevin Cash was tossed for the first time this season after disputing a check swing on Jackson Holliday. The at-bat dragged on, Holliday ended up with a sacrifice fly, and Alonso hammered the nail in just after.
“Whatever I can do to help score runs and keep them off the board in the field, I do not care, I just want to win,” the first baseman said.
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Beavers is living the month of his life
Dylan Beavers also went deep on Friday. That’s three games in a row. This week, he has hit half of his six homers on the season.
“He’s getting good pitches when he’s ahead in the count and he’s putting good swings on them,” Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said. “He’s starting to feel it, and yeah, three homers in three straight games is pretty cool.”
It does not hide everything. The Orioles are 8-11 in August. They had taken three of four from the Rays last week, before getting swept 3-0 by the Yankees. The month keeps swinging both ways.
Tampa Bay is feeling the squeeze
The Rays still have the best record in the American League. They are not playing like it: two wins in their last eight games, and a lead trimmed to three games over the Yankees in the American League East.
“We need to find answers,” shortstop Taylor Walls said. “Across the board, we need to be a bit better. We’re almost in September, the race is tightening up. We’ve got to raise our level.”
On the mound tonight: Brandon Young (9-3, 3.25 ERA) for Baltimore, Shane McClanahan (9-6, 3.52 ERA) for Tampa Bay. Young is coming off a rough outing against these same Rays, giving up four runs and eight hits in four innings. McClanahan is making his second appearance since returning from injury. He is 6-0 in his career against the Orioles.
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