The Baltimore Orioles travelled to New York City Wednesday ahead of their three-game series with the New York Yankees (92-68). The team spent their off day, Thursday, in the Big Apple and were probably hearing David Bowie’s lyrics, “Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes, Turn and face the strange, Ch-ch-changes, There’s gonna have to be a different man, Time may change me”.
What was strange by the end of Thursday was the weekend schedule change; the teams were now going to play a traditional doubleheader Friday and try to finish the series Sunday due to the impending Nor’easter. The change was the letter “E” next to the Orioles line in the Wild card standings as they were officially eliminated from playoff contention with the Chicago White Sox 9-1 win over the Kansas City Royals earlier in the day on Thursday. Based on the 2026 season that fell below expectations, there will be changes and different men in 2027.
The game Friday in the Bronx was a juxtaposition of the two teams, contender against pretender, as the Birds defeated the Bronx Bombers 10-2 on the back of three homeruns that left the field of play and one inside-the-park homerun.
Pete Alonso (3 for 5, 2 R, 3 RBI) hit a pair of homeruns, his 42nd and 43rd of the season, in the game, proving his affinity for hitting in New York. He has now hit four homeruns in NYC, two in three games in Citi Field and two in Yankee Stadium. Alonso’s fist homerun, a two-run shot came in the third inning while his second, a solo homerun, led off the seventh inning. He has now single-handedly thwarted the Triple Crown aspirations of Houston’s Yordan Alvarez; Alonso leads the American League in homeruns and RBI (113).
Sandwiched between Alonso’s homeruns was a grand slam homerun by Dylan Beavers (1 for 4, 2 R, 4 RBI) in the forth inning and an inside-the-park homerun in the sixth off the bat of Jeremiah Jackson (1 for 4, R, RBI).
Also in the fourth, Christian Franklin (2 for 5, 2 R, RBI) hit a single with the bases loaded for his first MLB RBI prior to Bravers’ blast.
Franklin scored the Bird’s tenth run from second base on Gunnar Henderson‘s (2 for 5) RBI-single with two outs in the eighth inning.
In what was his 52nd and possibly final start for the Orioles, Trevor Rogers, who is a free agent at the end of the season, allowed a run on 5 hits and struck out 4 over 4.0 innings. A fourth inning Heliot Ramos triple followed by an Amed Rosario RBI-single accounted for lone run surrendered by Rogers. He finished the season with a 10-11 record, a 4.03 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP across a span of 169.2 innings pitched.
Recently re-re-re-re-re-reacquired Albert Suarez (3-0) allowed 3 hits and struck out 5 pitching the fifth through eighth innings to get credit for the win.
Alex Hoppe allowed a one out bases-loaded sacrifice fly to Paul Goldschmidt in the ninth inning to account for the Yankees’ second run of the contest.
There is no telling what the nightcap will bring.
2026 Record: 79-81
Next Game: Fri. 9/25 @ 7:31 pm @ New York Yankees
