Pete Alonso will be alright, but he had the Sunday afternoon crowd at Sutter Health Park gasping loudly during the late innings.

With the Baltimore Orioles leading 7-5, Alonso fell behind on the count while batting leadoff in the top of the eighth. Athletics reliever Kade Morris needed one more strike to get him out, but his 1-2 pitch went high, and the 94.6 mph four-seamer struck Alonso sharply on the helmet.

The velocity sent the Orioles’ first baseman to the dirt as his helmet flew off. The 31-year-old lay on his back for a moment before getting up on his own. Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun posted the scary turn of events on X.

“Scary moment here in Sacramento after Pete Alonso takes a 95 mph fastball off the helmet. He gets up under his own power and walks down to first base, but the Orioles pinch-run Jackson Holliday for him,” Weyrich wrote in the caption.

On Sunday, Alonso did not leave the game immediately after Morris plunked him. After a visit from the trainers, he got back up, making his way from the dirt to first base. He even gestured a thumbs-up to the rookie Athletics pitcher to indicate there were no hard feelings, being his usual calm and professional self.

Fortunately for Alonso, the baseball did not strike his helmet flush, per MLB.com. It caught the edge of his helmet, helping him avoid a more serious injury. Manager Craig Albernaz also shared an update on the player postgame.

“Pete was fine, came out fine,” Albernaz told the reporters, per MLB.com. “He was typical Pete in the dugout.”

But after the hit, Polar Bear couldn’t go long and went back to the dugout, as Holliday came in. Later, the skipper even revealed that the coaching staff had already planned to replace him with the pinch runner in such a situation, or even if the slugger reached base without being hit.

Holliday came around to score on Gunnar Henderson’s RBI triple. But the team’s precautionary measures make sense, given that Alonso has posted a 1.040 OPS in August, driving the O’s offense with nine homers as his team looks to stay in the American League wild-card chase.

Right now, Pete Alonso is considered day-to-day. Hopefully, he’ll be fit enough for Monday’s series opener with the Colorado Rockies.

A similar incident unfolded on August 15, when Nick Gonzales exited the night game in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The pitch that hit him in the helmet was a 94.2-mph four-seam fastball from Red Sox left-handed reliever Jovani Morán. Almost immediately, Gonzales was checked by the medical staff. At the time, he was batting a team-high .307.

“Just scary when you get hit up in that area,” Pirates manager Don Kelly had shared. “Looked like it got the C-flap there, but anytime you get hit up in the head area, it’s always scary and not something that you really want to mess with.”

Coming back, during the Orioles’ 8-5 win over the Athletics, Alonso went 1-for-2, recording 2 runs and a walk. Jackson Holliday pinch-ran for Alonso and replaced him in the ninth.

Ahead of the 2026 season, Alonso left the New York Mets as a free agent and moved to Baltimore. The Orioles signed him to a five-year, $155 million contract to become their new first baseman.

After spending time as one of the best sluggers in Mets history, Alonso initially struggled to find his pace in Baltimore. He has now found his rhythm as the season progressed.

Batting .340 with a .640 slugging percentage, Alonso is red-hot in August. He has gone 34-for-100 and hit 9 homers and 22 RBIs this month.

But Alonso has been suffering from right calf issues since he cramped against the Tampa Bay Rays earlier in August. Albernaz did not want to push Alonso and aggravate his leg injury further.

With Sunday’s win, the Orioles swept the Athletics in the three-game series. Gunnar Henderson took charge, helping the Orioles rally past the Athletics.

Now, let’s have a quick look at how the game unfolded on Sunday.

Gunnar Henderson homers to push Orioles to victory

During the series finale against the Athletics, Gunnar Henderson took charge of the Orioles’ offense from the beginning.

Batting with two outs in the first inning, Henderson opened the scoring with a solo home run. Yet, the Athletics took a 5-1 lead, as they got the best of Chris Bassitt.

The veteran pitcher had a shaky outing and allowed 5 runs on 8 hits across 5.2 innings. However, the Orioles’ relief pitching stepped up to limit the damage to five runs.

Even though the relievers tossed scoreless innings, the Orioles’ lineup rallied past the Athletics.

Alonso sparked the rally in the top of the fourth with a single. Then Henderson backed it up with one of his own. But third baseman Coby Mayo brought the game within reach with his three-run home run.

From then on, the Orioles only intensified their offensive attack.

Trailing 4-5 in the next frame, with Alonso and Blaze Alexander on base, Henderson took the batter’s box.

He launched a three-run homer, putting the Orioles firmly in the lead. While Yennier Cano worked his third save of the season, Henderson added another run to seal the victory.

Following Pete Alonso’s hit-by-pitch incident, Henderson tripled to drive Holliday home.

With their latest win, the Orioles (68-69) are just one game away from the third and final AL Wild Card spot. They play the Colorado Rockies next.