Pete Alonso Is Striking Out Four Times a Game and Baltimore Has No Answer
The Orioles' bats went silent on Saturday, and it was ugly. Baltimore mustered just four hits, two of them homers, while striking out 16 times against Cleveland. The problem? Their star offseason acquisition and several key hitters are completely lost at the plate right now.
Alonso and Cowser Are Drowning
Pete Alonso signed a five-year, $155 million contract to be the Orioles' offensive engine. Instead, he's sitting at .208 with two homers and eight RBIs to go with 26 strikeouts in just 78 at-bats. On Saturday alone, he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Colton Cowser, the fifth overall pick in 2021, isn't faring much better. He's batting .178 with 16 strikeouts in 45 at-bats and also went 0-for-4 on the day. Dylan Beavers fanned three times. This isn't a fluke. This is a pattern.
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👉 Claim Your Free $10 at KalshiManager Craig Albernaz pinpointed Gavin Williams, Cleveland's dominant right-hander, as the culprit. "They couldn't see the breaking ball early enough to either make an adjustment or hold off on it," Albernaz said. Williams absolutely dominated, striking out 11 over seven innings while allowing just three hits and one run. He leads the majors with 40 strikeouts.
The Series and What's Next
The Guardians have won two of the first three games in this four-game set, including Saturday's 4-2 victory. Cleveland's runs came on homers from Brayan Rocchio (a three-run blast) and Bo Naylor (solo shot). For Baltimore, Leody Taveras and Gunnar Henderson provided the only runs with their homers.
The finale on Sunday pits Trevor Rogers (2-1, 3.04 ERA) against Cleveland's Joey Cantillo (1-0, 2.61 ERA). Rogers was roughed up by Arizona on Tuesday, giving up four runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. He's 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in two career starts against the Guardians. Cantillo received a no-decision against St. Louis on Tuesday when he allowed two runs and five hits over six innings.
Baltimore needs to find contact. If Alonso, Cowser, and the rest of the lineup don't figure out how to lay off breaking balls and actually make contact, Sunday's finale is going to be more of the same.
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