After being eliminated, Orioles split their doubleheader with the Yankees

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NEW YORK — When Orioles players and staff members arrived at Yankee Stadium on Friday, their first time together as a team since they were eliminated from playoff contention Thursday, manager Craig Albernaz addressed the room.

“First and foremost, I can be better for them,” Albernaz said in his retelling an hour or so later. “I’ve got to make adjustments and help us in the win column as much as I can, but also challenged them that each player does some self-reflection.”

Pete Alonso has already reflected, even before the final three Orioles games of this disappointing season. As the second half of the season continued, Alonso seemed intent on dragging Baltimore to the postseason himself. And, as he thought ahead to another grind toward October, his message was to himself and his teammates.

“We need to do a better job as players, because that’s what it boils down to,” Alonso said. “At the end of the day, you can have all the help, all the coaching, all the information, but it’s about getting it done between the lines and, collectively as a group, we didn’t do that.”

Alonso sure tried his best, and what he produced in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader was another example of his game-changing ways. He crushed two home runs as part of Baltimore’s too-little, too-late 10-2 victory.

In doing so, Alonso established himself as the American League home run leader, at 43, with one game remaining. He also leads the AL in RBIs at 113.

But, for how well the first game went, the nightcap was a familiar return of the frustrating Orioles — the sort of play that led to this 79-82 record.

If this was the final day of Baltimore’s season (rain may render Sunday’s game unplayable), it was fitting. The dichotomy of the two games was emblematic of this year. The Orioles played a strong, complete nine innings in the first game; they played poorly in the second, with too many strikeouts and stranded runners, while also making mistakes in the field.

Baltimore lost the second game, 6-3, and finished it with 17 strikeouts. The Orioles went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position, they stranded 13 runners, and outfielder Rece Hinds (who went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts) notched one error and missed a catch that counted for a double.

Still, right-hander Brandon Young finished his breakout season in good form with five innings and one run, lowering his ERA to 3.56. The bats didn’t support him, though, and the Orioles’ deficit swelled.

That swept away some of the cheer from earlier in the day, when Alonso looked superhuman again.

“You just laugh every time he hits a homer now, because it’s so cool to watch,” said Gunnar Henderson, who reluctantly admitted he played about half the season with a right wrist injury. “He’s been awesome to have around, and really looking forward to playing with him for many years.”

As Alonso rallies his teammates for an offseason of introspection, the $155 million man should be able to look back on his first season with Baltimore as a personal achievement. He has notched the third-most homers of his career, and his latest spurt has been almost unbelievable — that is, if we weren’t watching him do it in real time.

When his second home run left his bat and traveled a season-long 471 feet in the seventh inning, that meant eight of Alonso’s previous nine hits were homers. And, since Aug. 9, Alonso’s 43-game run has been otherworldly. He has managed 20 homers and 42 RBIs in that stretch.

Of course, this is a team game, and Alonso generally recenters a conversation in that direction. For the team, this was not a successful season. The American League was pitiful, and yet the Orioles couldn’t sneak into a weak playoff field.

“As a club, we failed to perform and do what we were supposed to do,” Alonso said. “We had great moments, great individual performances, but as a whole, that’s not the standard here. And that’s unacceptable for us.”

The way the Orioles played in the first game Friday looked a lot like the best version of Baltimore. The Orioles hit to all fields and didn’t rely on homers, although Dylan Beavers’ first career grand slam joined Alonso’s two long balls. And, for good measure, Jeremiah Jackson raced around the bases for an inside-the-park homer.

“J.J. smashed that one, and Buck [Britton] gets fired up at third base to send someone,” Albernaz said. “It was fun to watch.”

Christian Franklin notched two opposite-field singles and recorded the first RBI of his career. Colton Cowser also recorded two knocks. The outpouring of run support aided left-hander Trevor Rogers, who pitched four innings to conclude his season with a 4.03 ERA.

There will be ample eyes on Rogers’ pending free-agent market. He’s a qualifying offer candidate, which opens a path to returning to Baltimore. But the southpaw will also be a coveted starter and a target for teams that miss out on left-hander Tarik Skubal.

Albernaz said Rogers’ shortened start was planned.

“Today being the 30th start was pretty big for me, personally,” Rogers said. “Just being able to go out there for a couple innings, four innings there, and keep my team in it and feeling good to end the year was special.”

Then right-hander Albert Suárez swept up the next four innings ahead of Alex Hoppe in the ninth. This was good, clean baseball when the stakes were zero. It showed the potential of the group, and it also underscored how far Baltimore underperformed as an offense at times this season.

In that respect, the Orioles may feel a bit wistful about the performance in the first game Friday. Alonso led a superb offensive display against right-hander Brendan Beck. But he did it alone too often this year for the Orioles to be resting ahead of October baseball.

And, in the nightcap, all of the positives vanished in familiar fashion. The Orioles have not have been consistent this year, but they have at least been consistent in their inconsistency.

“At the end of the day, we just didn’t play clean baseball,” Young said. “I don’t think we synced up good pitching, good D, good hitting at certain times.”

This article has been updated.