Steve the Tree Guy called last Friday morning. He helped us out when a very tall and very old cherry tree lost one of its longest limbs, which took out some nearby power lines and was on the verge of doing more damage based on a rotting trunk. You might say that was the root of our relationship, although you probably shouldn’t, and that we worked through our differences based on his rooting interest in the Steelers.

Steve had attended last Thursday night’s Orioles-Yankees game — he’s an Orioles fan — and had one question: What is wrong with Gunnar Henderson? It’s one that has been asked throughout the 2026 season and was asked again after an error by Henderson had led to three New York runs and undermined starting pitcher Kyle Bradish in a 6-1 loss.

And while I still believer the Orioles will need Henderson to play more like he did in 2024 down the stretch to secure a wild-card bid, I haven’t given enough credit to the Oriole who has kept their playoff hopes alive, Pete Alonso. The 31-year-old first baseman has brought an element that is shrinking these days in Major League Baseball, right-handed power, much better defense than anyone expected, an everyday presence and work ethic that doesn’t waver, and veteran leadership that the Orioles needed. He has been worth his five-year, $155-million contract.

On the night of Steve’s call, and after a four-game losing streak that put the Orioles’ postseason hopes on the thinnest of ice, Alonso carried the Orioles to victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, sparking a series win the Orioles desperately needed before they headed out for a nine-game road trip.

He did it with his bat, and his glove. Most notably in the sixth inning when he made a standout play on Chandler Simpson, arguably the fastest player in baseball. Simpson hit a ground ball that Alonso backhanded while moving to his right and then reversed direction to make a diving tag of first ahead of Simpson.

“Great, sure, awesome, but at the end of the day, I just want to win games,” Alonso said. “Obviously, that can happen via the homer, but for me, whatever I can help produce and help put runs on the board and prevent them in the field, I don’t care, I just want to win. Whatever I can do offensively, defensively, running the bags, doing the little things right, I just want to win ballgames. That’s all it is.”

That play helped preserve a 5-3 lead that Alonso had given the Orioles in the bottom of the fifth when he crushed a two-run homer to break a 3-3 tie. The home run was officially his 30th, although it should have counted as his 31st after he had one taken away on a bad call against the Yankees. He has 85 RBIs after getting off to a slow start that had fans wondering if he would bring his Mets magic to Baltimore.

“It takes a long time to have a good season,” Alonso said. “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.”

Oriole starter Trevor Rogers, who benefited from Alonso’s heroics, didn’t like facing him when he was with the Marlins and Alonso was with the Mets. He wasn’t worried about Alonso’s slow start, just as he was confident he would find his groove after an early-season slump,

“It’s about what I expect, being on the other side for so many years,” Rogers said. “When he started out slow in the beginning of the year, I wasn’t worried about it. At the end of the day, he’s Pete Alonso, and I think everyone expected him to do what he’s doing at some point. So the fact that he’s doing it now for us, it’s huge, especially where we are with the time of the year. He’s going to be huge for us down the stretch.”

It would be a huge boost to the Orioles if Henderson got hot and Alonso stayed hot, but Alonso can carry a lot on his broad shoulders.

“He’s a top-notch individual, leader of men,” Rogers said. “But I think the best thing about him is you can go and talk to him about anything. All I can say is I’m glad it’s me not pitching against him anymore, and I can sit in the dugout and actually enjoy homers when he hits them. He’s a special player, a special human. I’m glad that he’s in this clubhouse, and he’s been playing some unbelievable baseball for us, and hopefully, that’ll continue for him.”

And for the Orioles.