Orioles hopes suddenly hinge on Pete Alonso staying red hot

Amidst a five-game losing streak where every game was a blowout and felt over after two innings, it's hard to find reasons to feel optimistic, but if there was one silver lining for the Baltimore Orioles this weekend, it was that Pete Alonso broke out of his slump and looks like the guy the Orioles couldn't wait to give $155 million to be their franchise first baseman.

At the end of the Orioles series against the Red Sox, Alonso's season slash line sat at .196/.301/.336. Over the course of the season, he had clubbed a few home runs and had been walking a fair amount, but he was striking out and rolling over balls to short at an alarming rate. The biggest point of concern that everyone noticed was that his bat speed had been down two ticks from his past season, which is a big drop.

When asked about the dip in bat speed, manager Craig Albernaz waved it off as being the result of Alonso chasing out of the zone, which naturally results in slower swings. A few weeks later, that diagnosis appears to have been spot on, as over the past several games, Alonso has looked like his old self, spraying hard-hit balls all around the park and over the fence.

Over the four games leading up to Monday's finale, Alonso was hitting .385/.467/1.000 with two homers, two doubles, and two walks. Under the hood, the numbers look like prime Alonso; he hit balls at 102, 105, 108, and 115 mph all on swings over 76 mph. All right in line with his career metrics.

The Orioles need Pete Alonso to be Pete Alonso for the rest of this season

Whether he was pressing because he wanted to prove himself to another team or just adjusting to a new routine after seven seasons in New York, it seems Alonso's early-season scuffle is over. This comes at a crucial time in the Orioles season as they currently sit at a turning point.

They can either bounce back from this losing streak and get back to around .500 and hang around the playoff picture until they get reinforcements at the deadline, or they can spiral out and end up as sellers again.

Alonso is going to play a big role in deciding which way the rest of the season goes. The Orioles need him to continue to have good at-bats and drive runners in, but he can't do it alone. A big reason that, despite the fact that Alonso has been on fire, the Orioles have lost their last four games is that when he's hit these homers and doubles, there hasn't been anyone on base. Now that Alonso is hot, he needs a couple of Gunnar Henderson, Taylor Ward, and Adley Rutschman to be on base when he hits balls over the fence. If those four can all start pulling in the same direction, the Orioles will be able to climb out of this hole they've dug themselves.

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