One homer. That is the gap between Pete Alonso and the American League home run title as Baltimore closes out its season Sunday at Yankee Stadium. Alonso carries 43 home runs into the 1:05 p.m. ET finale, sitting one behind Yordan Alvarez and Junior Caminero in the race. He has already wrapped up the AL RBI title outright with 113, and he is chasing something else too: a 162-game season for the third year running.
The power surge has been absurd down the stretch. Alonso has hit eight home runs in his last ten hits, a stretch manager Craig Albernaz pointed to directly. “It’s not only the at-bat quality and the pitches he’s getting, he’s not missing them,” Albernaz said. Alonso’s 43 homers are already the most by an Oriole since Mark Trumbo hit 47 back in 2016, and Baltimore will need every one of those swings to matter for something in 2027.
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A Dead Rubber Wrapped Around Real Storylines
Nothing is on the line in the standings. New York was eliminated from the AL East race on Tuesday and has already turned the page to next week’s wild-card series against Boston, resting regulars for most of the final week. Baltimore, meanwhile, is closing out a second straight losing season, a jarring comedown after the Orioles won 275 games combined from 2022 through 2024.
The Yankees’ lineup card tells its own story. Aaron Judge has played just 66 games all year because of a moderately strained right calf and may not be ready for October at all. Ben Rice has picked up the slack in the middle of the order with 41 home runs and 97 RBIs, while rookie call-up Anthony Volpe has made the most of his 14 games back, hitting .265 with 11 hits in 49 at-bats and 9 RBIs.
The Arms Standing Between Alonso and History
New York hands the ball to Elmer Rodriguez, making his sixth start of the season with an 0-3 record and a 5.40 ERA, having walked 16 and struck out 21 across 26⅔ innings. Baltimore counters with Shane Baz, who is 6-15 with a 4.11 ERA on the year but has scuffled to a 2-6 mark and 4.37 ERA over his last ten outings. Baz owns an 0-3 record and a 6.48 ERA in eight career starts against New York, a matchup history that will do Alonso no favors if he needs support from the other side of the ball.
None of it changes what Sunday is really about. A crown, a streak and one last afternoon at Yankee Stadium before Baltimore’s second miserable season in a row officially goes into the books.
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