The Baltimore Orioles showed on Tuesday why baseball teams should never give up early in the season. They entered their matchup with the Miami Marlins on a five-game losing streak, but they won 9-7 largely thanks to rookie catcher Samuel Basallo.

The 21-year-old went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a run scored after going 3-for-12 with one RBI over the previous four games. He plated star first baseman Pete Alonso on a first-inning double before hitting a two-run single in the third and an RBI triple in the fifth. 

Alonso scored four times, as his second run was during Basallo's third-inning single and his third on the aforementioned triple. After that, the 31-year-old came home on Leody Taveras's ninth-inning single, which was the game's last scoring play.

The offense bailed out starting pitcher Chris Bassitt, who gave up four runs on six hits over just four innings. The 37-year-old now has a 5.91 ERA over seven starts.

Baltimore is tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for third place in the AL East at 16-20 after its victory in Miami.

Basallo is now hitting .378 with a 1.047 OPS, two homers, and six RBIs over the last 15 days. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder is showing why Baltimore gave him an eight-year, $67 million contract extension in August despite being unproven in the big leagues.

Basallo signed with the Orioles as an international free agent in 2021 and worked his way up their farm system over the next four years. The native Dominican hit .283 with an .864 OPS, 73 homers, and 269 RBIs over 401 career minor-league games.

Basallo was promoted to MLB for the first time in August and finished the season hitting .165 with a .559 OPS, four homers and 15 RBIs over 31 big-league games. However, Baltimore banked on his potential, as he was its No. 1 prospect (No. 13 MLB Pipeline) last year.

Basallo is now showing why the club made that investment. If he continues his momentum, he could establish himself as another homegrown cornerstone alongside star shortstop Gunnar Henderson.

Up next for the Orioles are rematches with the Marlins on Wednesday and Thursday before returning home to host the Athletics and New York Yankees. After that, they'll hit the road again to face the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays.

Right-handed pitcher Brandon Young will start for Baltimore against right-hander Eury Perez on Wednesday. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET.