The Opener: Pete Alonso’s Near-Homer, Rays Closer Bryan Baker’s 36th Save, and Cade Cavalli’s Continued Run of Strong Work

Pete Alonso came up just short of delivering what he believed was a go-ahead home run, only for his drive to be ruled foul as the Yankees game played out into its decisive moments. The near miss captured how thin margins can be, especially in late-season baseball where a single swing can alter leverage in an inning. Alonso’s blast, described as nearly breaking the game open, instead left the outcome to be decided by what followed.

For the Rays, the emphasis stayed on closing games. Bryan Baker, Tampa Bay’s late-inning reliever, converted another high-leverage opportunity and registered his 36th save of the 2026 season. The report also emphasized how rare Baker’s failures have been lately, noting that he had converted 25 straight save chances heading into that save.

Baker’s season profile in the reporting ties back to his established role in Tampa Bay’s bullpen. Entering the year, he had four career saves across five MLB seasons, and the game-by-game trust placed in him has clearly increased as he has continued to capitalize on save chances. The result is a closer who is no longer just “available in the ninth,” but a centerpiece of how the Rays protect leads.

On the starting side, the Rays also received another boost from Cade Cavalli. The opener’s summary framed Cavalli’s start as strong, extending a broader theme for Tampa Bay in recent outings: getting enough from the rotation to keep the bullpen from being exposed for multiple innings in a row. In a season that rewards teams that can manage innings efficiently, a stable starter gives the closer a cleaner path to the save situation.

Even without a long list of additional specifics, the clustering of these storylines points to the same underlying pattern across MLB games: teams with reliable late leverage tend to turn “almost” moments into outcomes. Alonso’s foul-ball misfire and Baker’s conversion highlight opposite ends of the spectrum, one moment reflecting baseball’s fine line between a swing becoming a rally and a swing becoming an out.

What to watch next is whether Tampa Bay can keep stacking that combination of starter reliability and ninth-inning execution as August tightens the margin between teams. For the Yankees and Orioles-linked storyline, the immediate question becomes how the game-changing swings are converted next time, particularly in moments where a fair-ball outcome could have swung the game before the late innings.

As always, it’s worth noting that this opener format is a quick roundup, so some details of context, such as the exact innings and the full chain of events, are not the focus here. The most concrete items are the foul-ball ruling on Alonso’s near-homer and Baker’s 36th save, both of which define the day’s headline contrasts.