The Orioles ended a four-game losing streak last night and are two back for the last Wild Card, with four teams ahead of them.

They also remain in last place in the American League East.

I’m saying there’s still a chance.

The Orioles are 7-4 against the Rays this season and 30-19 since 2023. They’ve won seven of the last eight meetings since May 25 and are 22-11 against Tampa Bay at Camden Yards since the start of 2022.

Asked last night if he knew why his team played so well against the Rays, Albernaz grinned and said, “I wish we did.”

“Same players, same team,” he said. “Go out and play baseball and we execute. Yeah, I wish there was something that we can really grab and take with us. But that’s what we talk about in the coaches’ room, our guys are the same. They do everything the same. They work their butts off pregame. They’re prepared. Mood never changes, and they just go out and play baseball and compete. And just so happens that the games we’re winning right now are against Tampa.” 

Pete Alonso brings a 13-game hitting streak into tonight. He’s batting .480/.544/.940 (24-for-50) with seven homers during that stretch and .325/.407/.594 since the break.

“In 2025, I honed in on a really good routine and systems to kind of keep me good, keep me consistent,” he said last night. “I feel like that those systems, the preparedness and systems and studying, you see the fruits of the labor. Earlier in the year, there were obviously some adjustments, an adjustment period. And I feel like as the year has gone on, I’ve been able to kind of just get in the groove, find a groove, and just kind of rely on those, whether it be systems, drills, activations, and it’s a war of attrition.

“It takes a long time to have a good season. Sometimes you don’t see the fruits of your labor right away, and that’s where patience comes in, that’s where stubbornness comes in. When you have something you know that’s good for you, you just have to keep doing it and believing and knowing it’s going to work out. The best way I can describe it is eating protein and vegetables and doing all the right things for your health, and if you do that over a long period of time, you’ll see results. And sometimes those things don’t show up right away.

“And, again, I’m really happy to see the fruits of my labor, for personal performance, and at the end of the day, it’s all for winning ball games. I just want to give the best effort I can to help this team win.”

Fourteen of Alonso’s 30 home runs have come with two strikes, one fewer than leaders Yordan Álvarez and Hunter Goodman. Per STATS, he’s among 17 active players with 100-plus career home runs in two-strike counts.

Alonso is the designated hitter tonight, with Coby Mayo at first base.

Jackson Holliday stays in the leadoff spot. He snapped an 0-for-26 hitless streak over his previous eight home games since Aug. 1 with a first-inning double last night.

Gunnar Henderson is batting fifth. Christian Franklin is in left field.

Dylan Beavers has homered in three straight games, but he doesn’t get the left-on-left matchup tonight. Tyler O’Neill is the last Oriole with four straight in July 2025.

Brandon Young faced the Rays in his last start and allowed four runs and eight hits in four innings. He also mentioned soreness in a finger on his pitching hand.

Yandy Díaz is 2-for-2 with a home run against him.

The Orioles are 16-5 in Young’s starts. The best team record in club history was 29-8 with Cy Young Award winner Steve Stone on the mound in 1980.

The Orioles get another look at left-hander Shane McClanahan, who has a 3.25 ERA in 21 starts. He came off the injured list to face the Orioles in his last start and allowed three runs and four hits in 3 1/3 innings. He also made back-to-back starts against them in May, allowing four runs in five innings in St. Petersburg and tossing 5 1/3 scoreless in Baltimore.

Alonso is 3-for-10 with a double and home run against him. Coby Mayo is 3-for-4 with a double and home run.

O’Neill is 1-for-10.

The Rays have dropped six of their last eight games since Aug. 14 following a nine-game winning streak and have lost 12 of their last 17 games versus the division after beginning the season 19-7.

Chandler Simpson has a 12-game hitting streak.

For the Orioles
Jackson Holliday 2B
Pete Alonso DH
Coby Mayo 1B
Tyler O’Neill RF
Gunnar Henderson SS
Christian Encarnacion-Strand 3B
Christian Franklin LF
Leody Taveras CF
Carlos Narváez C

Brandon Young RHP