Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles

After being named the unanimous winner of the 2026 Most Valuable Oriole Award on Wednesday morning, Pete Alonso took the field at Camden Yards and continued what is shaping up to be an incredible finish to his first year in Baltimore. Alonso belted his 41st home run of the season to lift the Orioles to a 4-2 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of a split doubleheader. It marked the Polar Bear’s third homer over the first two games of the American League East rivalry series, as he previously swatted a pair in Monday night’s 4-3 comeback win. The O’s then recorded another 4-2 win in the nightcap of the twin bill -- with Christian Encarnacion-Strand homering and driving in three runs -- to stay alive in the AL Wild Card race for at least a bit longer. Baltimore (78-81) could still be eliminated before Thursday if the White Sox win at Kansas City on Wednesday night. Although the Orioles may not end up in the playoffs, they continue to feel great about what Alonso has brought to the club -- and what the 31-year-old slugger should bring throughout the remainder of the five-year, $155 million contract he signed this past December. Alonso is one of only eight players to hit 41 or more homers in a season in O’s history (since 1954), posting the ninth such campaign overall. His AL-high 110 RBIs are the most by a Baltimore player since Chris Davis had 117 in 2015. The only AL players with as many homers as Alonso this season are Houston’s Yordan Alvarez and Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, who each entered Wednesday with 41.