Pete Alonso Powers Orioles Past Rangers 10-5 as Baltimore Avoids Sweep
By Brian Hradsky | Maryland Sports Blog
The Baltimore Orioles finally broke through offensively Sunday afternoon, defeating the Texas Rangers 10-5 at Globe Life Field behind a massive performance from Pete Alonso.
After scoring only three total runs during a three-game losing streak, Baltimore erupted for 15 hits, four home runs and 10 runs to salvage the final game of the three-game series. The victory improved the Orioles to 57-61 and kept them within two games of the final American League Wild Card position.
Alonso led the way with his first multi-home run game as an Oriole, going 3-for-3 with two walks, three runs scored and four RBI. Colton Cowser and Tyler O’Neill also went deep as the Orioles produced the kind of offensive performance they desperately needed after dropping the first two games of the series.
Orioles Jump on Rangers Early
Baltimore immediately put pressure on Rangers starter Kumar Rocker.
Alonso singled in the first inning before Jackson Holliday doubled, putting runners at second and third. Dylan Beavers brought Alonso home with an infield single, and Leody Taveras followed with an RBI double to give Baltimore a 2-0 lead.
The Orioles added three more in the second.
Cowser opened the inning by crushing a 441-foot solo home run to center field, his ninth homer of the season. Gunnar Henderson later walked before Alonso launched a two-run home run down the left-field line.
Just two innings into the game, Baltimore had built a 5-0 advantage.
Cowser’s homer was especially encouraging. It was his first home run since June 21 and traveled 441 feet with a 108.9 mph exit velocity, making it his longest home run of the 2026 season.
Rangers Cut Into Lead
Orioles starter Cade Povich cruised through the first two innings before running into trouble in the third.
Wyatt Langford singled and Ezequiel Duran walked before Brandon Nimmo drove a first-pitch slider 434 feet to center field for a three-run homer, suddenly cutting Baltimore’s advantage to 5-3.
Povich would not return for the fourth inning.
The left-hander finished with three innings pitched, allowing four hits and three earned runs with two walks and two strikeouts. He threw 61 pitches, only 33 for strikes.
Fortunately for Baltimore, the offense immediately answered.
Alonso Answers Again
Texas turned to veteran left-hander Jordan Montgomery in the fourth inning, but Alonso greeted him with another long ball.
After Henderson reached on a fielder’s choice, Alonso worked a full count before launching a changeup 404 feet to left-center field for his second two-run homer of the afternoon.
The blast increased Baltimore’s lead to 7-3 and gave Alonso his 25th home run of the season.
Alonso’s first homer had come off Rocker in the second inning, giving him home runs against both a right-handed and left-handed pitcher Sunday.
He finished the afternoon reaching base in all five of his plate appearances.
Alonso also reached an interesting piece of Orioles history. According to MASN, his 25 home runs through his first 118 games with Baltimore matched Reggie Jackson’s total through the same number of games in 1976. Frank Robinson holds the franchise mark with 37 over his first 118 Orioles games in 1966.
O’Neill Adds Another Blast
Baltimore continued adding insurance in the sixth.
Holliday singled before O’Neill hammered a 425-foot two-run home run to center field off Montgomery.
The homer was O’Neill’s 10th of the season and increased Baltimore’s lead to 9-3.
O’Neill finished 1-for-5 with two RBI, while Holliday went 2-for-5 with two runs scored.
Holliday’s performance continued an encouraging turnaround after he had entered Saturday in an 0-for-18 August slump. He homered and doubled Saturday before collecting another two hits Sunday.
Mayo Continues Swinging a Hot Bat
Coby Mayo was another major bright spot for Baltimore.
Mayo went 3-for-5 and recorded his third triple of the season. All three of those triples have come over his last nine games.
It marked Mayo’s first three-hit game since Sept. 16, 2025.
Taveras also had two hits, including an RBI double, while Cowser finished 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and a walk.
Eight of Baltimore’s nine starters recorded at least one hit.
The Orioles finished with 15 hits, six walks and four home runs. They went 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
Orioles Bullpen Shuts Down Texas
With Povich exiting after only three innings, Baltimore needed significant work from its bullpen.
Yaramil Hiraldo delivered.
Hiraldo worked two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three. The performance earned him his first Major League victory.
Alex Hoppe followed with a scoreless sixth despite allowing two hits.
Andrew Kittredge retired the Rangers in order during a six-pitch seventh inning.
Albert Suárez handled the final two innings. Texas scored twice in the ninth after Cam Cauley singled and Nicky Lopez tripled before Duran grounded out to bring Lopez home.
By that point, however, the game had already been decided.
Baltimore had added its 10th run in the top of the ninth when Cowser drew a bases-loaded walk.
Rocker Struggles Against Baltimore
Rocker never found a rhythm for Texas.
The Rangers right-hander lasted only three-plus innings, allowing seven hits, six earned runs and two walks while striking out five.
He threw 69 pitches and fell to 4-9 with a 4.46 ERA.
Montgomery, making his first Major League appearance since September 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2025, worked four innings in relief. He surrendered six hits and three earned runs, including home runs to Alonso and O’Neill.
A Much-Needed Offensive Explosion
The timing of Baltimore’s offensive breakout could not have been much better.
The Orioles entered Sunday having scored just one run in each of their previous three games.
Baltimore lost 2-1 to Texas Friday and 5-1 Saturday after also struggling offensively in its previous game.
Sunday looked completely different.
The Orioles scored twice in the first, three times in the second, twice in the fourth, twice in the sixth and once in the ninth.
They also hit four home runs after going through stretches of the series unable to generate sustained offense.
The Orioles still lost the series two games to one, but avoiding a sweep was important considering how congested the American League Wild Card picture remains.
Baltimore left Arlington at 57-61, four games under .500 and two games behind the final Wild Card position. Texas fell to 59-59.
MSB Take
This was exactly the kind of game the Orioles needed.
Baltimore’s offense had looked lifeless for most of the series, and another low-scoring loss would have been particularly damaging during an important stretch of the season.
Instead, the Orioles showed what this lineup is capable of producing.
Alonso was the star, but this was not simply a one-player performance. Holliday had two hits. Mayo had three. Cowser had two hits and finally broke his lengthy home run drought. Taveras had two hits. O’Neill provided another home run.
Baltimore had contributions throughout the batting order.
The biggest concern remains Povich. The Orioles cannot consistently rely on five or six innings from the bullpen, especially during a stretch of games with postseason implications. However, Hiraldo, Hoppe and Kittredge did their jobs Sunday and prevented Texas from mounting another comeback after Nimmo’s three-run homer.
Now Baltimore has to make this offensive performance mean something.
One 10-run game does not erase the struggles that preceded it. But with the Orioles still only two games out of a Wild Card position, there remains very little separation between playing meaningful baseball down the stretch and falling out of the race.
Sunday kept Baltimore in the conversation.
The Orioles now head to Minnesota for another important series against the Twins, with former Oriole Dean Kremer expected to face Baltimore on Monday.
Final: Baltimore Orioles 10, Texas Rangers 5
Baltimore improves to 57-61 while Texas falls to 59-59. The Rangers win the three-game series, two games to one.
