Baltimore Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso reacted to a disappointing injury development.
The Baltimore Orioles ended their first half in the midst of a four-game winning streak. However, despite heading into the break with positive momentum, they are losing one of their best players for the foreseeable future.
During the seventh inning of Sunday's game, infielder Blaze Alexander was struck on the left hand by Kansas City Royals pitcher Lucas Erceg.
Alexander was visibly animated after getting hit and the benches cleared. Unfortunately, after the game the Orioles revealed that Alexander suffered a broken left hand. First baseman and clubhouse leader Pete Alonso reacted to the unfortunate news when speaking with reporters.
"Losing Blaze, it's really frustrating. We've got to pick him up. We've got to do it for him," Alonso said (h/t Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun).
Alonso is right. Losing Alexander is a huge blow based purely on the value he has provided this season in his first year with the Orioles.
Out of all the moves Baltimore made this offseason, including signing Alonso to a massive five-year deal, acquiring Alexander from the Arizona Diamondbacks flew under the radar. It has turned out to be one of their best acquisitions.
Alexander is in the midst of the best offensive season of his career, posting a .312 batting average, .368 on-base percentage, .807 OPS, four home runs and 29 RBIs across 82 games, while also serving as a versatile piece on the infield with the ability to play every position besides first base.
Losing that kind of production and flexibility at this point in the season is a big setback for a team that cannot afford it.
It is still unclear exactly how much time Alexander will miss, and the hope is it is a matter of weeks rather than months.
Alonso will do his best to pick up the offensive slack, something he has done for this entire Orioles team since arriving. In his first year with Baltimore, he has posted a .252 batting average, .346 on-base percentage, .820 OPS, 21 home runs and 65 RBIs while appearing in all 97 games.
While the rest of the team has struggled at times, Alonso has consistently been the most reliable presence in the middle of the order.
There is plenty of work to do as Baltimore enters the break at 46-51 five games under .500, and doing it without Alexander makes the climb steeper. But if anyone can lead the charge, it is Alonso.
