Alonso’s streak goes on; Orioles-Cardinals lineups

ST. LOUIS—Pete Alonso will play in his 550^th consecutive game on Thursday. For the second time in the three game series against the Cardinals, Alonso will be the designated hitter, something he’s done often since tweaking his right calf muscle earlier this month at Tampa Bay.

“We have the DH spot available,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said before Wednesday’s game. “It was taken up a lot of the time this year by one of the catchers, but it’s open right now … It allows us to get Pete off his feet, keep his bat in the lineup.”

Alonso’s streak is impressive, and Albernaz acknowledges that it’s “pretty much” up to the player if he wants to end the streak, which is the second-longest active streak in the majors. Atlanta’s Matt Olson has played in 915 straight games.

“Pete’s going to play,” Albernaz said. “That’s the kind of dude that he is. That’s the standard he set where you physically have to drag him off the field for him not to be able to play, and that’s why we all love him. He’s prepared both mentally and physically as anyone I’ve been around.

“He takes great pride in where his body’s at, and he knows his body better than anyone.”

If Alonso can play in each of the remaining 28 games on the Orioles’ schedule and appear in every game in 2027 as well, the 31-year-old first baseman will have one of the 10 longest streaks in baseball history. Former Oriole Cal Ripken Jr. is the record-holder, playing in 2,632 consecutive games.

“He has a track record,” Albernaz said about Alonso. “He’s played a lot of games in this league, a lot of games through the course of the season. He knows what it takes for him to go out and play. If he doesn’t feel like he’s at his best, and if it’s best for the team, he’ll let me know.”

Bullpen game for St. Louis

Gordon Graceffo is the Cardinals’ starting pitcher as manager Oli Marmol will try to piece together a game using his bullpen. It will be Graceffo’s second major league start. He threw 3 1/3 innings on July 10^th, 2024. This year, Graceffo hasn’t thrown more than 2 1/3 innings.

Albernaz said that a bullpen game is different from facing an opener, knowing that a bulk pitcher will follow.

“It’s very challenging. It’s just the unknown,” Albernaz said. “The bullpen game, it’s completely unknown. You know who the starter is, and that’s pretty much it. Everything’s dictated on the opposing dugout. It’s challenging on our end to construct a lineup, but it  allows guys to just go out there and play.

“You try to put your guys out there in the best spot to succeed, and when different situation comes up, it might be an in-game decision. Ultimately, it’s going to be chaos and unknown.”

Note: The Oriole starters for their three-game series against the Athletics will be Brandon Young (9-3, 3.50) on Friday, Shane Baz (4-14, 4.04) on Saturday and Chris Bassitt (5-4, 4.74) on Sunday. The Athletics have yet to name their starters.

Orioles-Cardinals lineups:

Orioles

Jackson Holliday-2B

Pete Alonso-DH

Gunnar Henderson-SS

Samuel Basallo-C

Christian Encarnacion-Strand-3B

Dylan Beavers-LF

Coby Mayo-1B

Colton Cowser-CF

Leody Taveras-RF

Trevor Rogers-LHP

Cardinals

José Fermín-SS

Iván Herrera-DH

Jordan Walker-RF

Alec Burleson-1B

Joshua Báez-LF

Blaze Jordan-3B

Ramón Urías-2B

Nathan Church-CF

Pedro Pagés-c

Gordon Graceffo-RHP

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com