Pete Alonso gets MVP push after helping Orioles eliminate Blue Jays

Pete Alonso gets MVP endorsement from teammate

All of those stats and all of the things that Alonso has meant to the Orioles this season makes the veteran first baseman a strong candidate for the AL Most Valuable Player Award, said teammate Chris Bassitt.

"Pete deserves MVP votes, and he deserves them every single year. That's just the reality," Bassitt said after earning his ninth victory of the season on Wednesday afternoon. "He's one of the most underappreciated players in our game. He's easily in the top three hitters every single year."

Each of Alonso's last six hits have been home runs, becoming the first Oriole to accomplish that since Mark Trumbo hit seven home runs between Aug. 11-22, 2016.

"He's not having a crazy historical year for his standards. It's just Pete being Pete," Bassitt said. "I think Pete has held the standard of what he's done for years, and I think people are not only realizing 'Holy s--t, this guy's really good' but that he's always been really, really good."

Just how good has Alonso been? The power numbers tell the story.

While Alonso's blast in Wednesday afternoon's win kept the Orioles mathematically alive for the postseason, Orioles manager Craig Albernaz wanted to make sure Bassitt's 90-pitch performance wasn't overlooked.

"It was definitely a gritty outing," Albernaz said of Bassitt scattering seven hits over 5.0-plus innings but allowing just two runs. "He made pitches when he had to. He had more in the tank but he did his job today. He gave us a chance to win and threw a lot of strikes."

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.