Alonso's 30th homer powers Orioles past Rays 5-3

BALTIMORE (AP) — Pete Alonso hit a go-ahead two-run homer for his 30th of the season, Trevor Rogers struck out six in seven innings and the Baltimore Orioles defeated the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 on Friday night.

Alonso also had an RBI single in the first to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games. He's batting .480 during the stretch.

Rogers (9-8) allowed three runs and six hits in his third quality start across four starts in August. He walked one.

After Alonso put the Orioles ahead in the first, Chandler Simpson tied it in the second with an RBI single. Kenny Piper hit first career homer, a two-run 410-footer to center, to give the Rays a 3-1 lead.

Dylan Beavers launched a solo shot in the fourth to get one back. Jackson Holliday tied it with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Alonso then blasted his 30th homer 443 feet to left, giving Baltimore the lead for good. He became the eighth Orioles player since 1954 to hit 30 home runs in his first season with the club.

Rico Garcia struck out two in the ninth for his sixth save.

Freddy Peralta (5-11) went seven innings for the Rays, striking out four and walking one while giving up five runs and seven hits.

Rays LHP Shane McClanahan (9-6, 3.25 ERA) takes the mound against Orioles RHP Brandon Young (9-3, 3.52) as the series continues Saturday.

See AP's full MLB coverage here

Tampa Bay Rays' Kenny Piper (50) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Trevor Rogers (28) delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Freddy Peralta delivers during the third inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Colton Cowser, right, is caught stealing second base by Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls, front left, during the second inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Dylan Beavers (12) celebrates with Coby Mayo, left, after hitting a home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — In a sign of how things have been going for Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz lately, being forced to fire his economy minister on Friday was not the worst news of his week.

Over the past seven days, Paz has been besieged on multiple fronts, challenging his capacity and weakening his already fragile political position.

His main congressional ally broke with his party, fracturing support for his agenda as he struggles to pull Bolivia away from nearly two decades of one-party socialist rule. An abrupt fuel price hike threatened to reignite public unrest. And his influential adviser was detained over the shooting of a woman who claims to have evidence of corruption inside his government.

“These are not easy times for the country,” Paz said on Thursday.

After a dizzying rise to power last year, Paz has spent his nine months in office growing accustomed to hard times.

Just six of the 15 ministers he originally appointed remain in their posts after a succession of political ruptures, corruption scandals and street protests. His partnership with Vice President Edman Lara — whose populist appeal helped Paz win last year's election — has rapidly deteriorated into open hostility. His efforts to shore up Bolivia’s scarce fuel supplies backfired when contaminated gasoline damaged more than 10,000 vehicles and led to the arrest of his ex-hydrocarbons minister. The seat of his government came under siege for almost eight weeks as dynamite-wielding protesters demanded his resignation.

Paz weathered it all. But analysts say the latest blows could pose his greatest challenge yet.

Here's a brief review of the week's damage in Bolivia:

Paz on Friday dismissed Economy Minister José Gabriel Espinoza, the architect of his government’s pro-market overhaul, days after Congress voted to force Espinoza out.

Lawmakers seized on a scandal surrounding Espinoza’s purchase of a luxury car and his failure to attend a congressional hearing about the economy to channel their mounting frustration over Bolivia’s stubborn inflation and chronic shortages of fuel and foreign currency reserves.

Prosecutors on Monday opened a criminal investigation into allegations that he falsified documents and misrepresented his income in connection with his purchase of an Audi Q4 for $5,000 — far below market value. He has attributed the discrepancy to a clerical error and denied wrongdoing.

Paz initially slammed the congressional vote as unconstitutional and insisted Espinoza would remain in office. But he soon changed course, exposing his weakness in Congress after the head of the center-right National Unity party, a crucial legislative ally, split with him last week over his reliance on presidential decrees.

“The vote on Espinoza showed the country what had until then been unclear: the true balance of power,” said Veronica Rocha, a Bolivian political analyst. “That balance is unfavorable to the government, which is now dependent on what other parties and lawmakers do.”

Espinoza's dismissal deprives Paz’s economic rescue effort of its chief strategist just as he needs Congress to approve a $1.9 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund, unlock a $200 million World Bank loan and pass legislation to bring dollars into Bolivia as discontent simmers over the pain of his fiscal adjustment.

After his government slashed long-standing generous fuel subsidies last year, driving up prices for ordinary Bolivians, it raised the price of diesel for bulk purchases by 84% this week, infuriating farmers and prompting calls for a mass strike.

“He's gotten some victories with the IMF deal, at least in principle, and with other multilateral loans,” said Casey Cagley, a senior adviser at Red Telescope Global, a Seattle-based strategic advisory firm, who studies Bolivia. “But that hasn’t translated into help with affordability or any significant reform.”

The week’s most explosive development came Tuesday, when Bolivian police arrested Fernando Cerimedo, an Argentine political strategist with close ties to Paz who has run digital strategy for right-wing leaders across the region including Argentine President Javier Milei and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Prosecutors charged Cerimedo with attempted femicide after two men disguised as delivery workers shot his former romantic partner, Bolivian lawyer Nadia Beller, three times outside a hotel. From her hospital bed, Beller, 33, accused Cerimedo of orchestrating the attack to silence her over evidence that she says implicates him and others close to Paz in corruption.

A medical report that Beller shared with The Associated Press documented wounds to her breast, arm, neck and shoulders, including a shattered bone requiring surgery, and said she was four to six weeks pregnant.

Cerimedo denied involvement in the attack, with his lawyer calling Beller's accusations a ploy to destabilize the government. Milei appeared to defend his former adviser on Thursday, reposting claims on X that her shooting was a “setup.”

Prosecutors then raided four properties linked to Cerimedo after Beller published photos of drawers stuffed with cash. They reported seizing more than 500,000 bolivianos — roughly $44,000 — along with undisclosed amounts of dollars and euros. Investigators also confiscated equipment they described as a “bot farm,” an automated network of fake social media accounts.

Late Friday, a judge in Santa Cruz ordered that he be detained for 180 days at a prison in the city while the case proceeds.

"This case could shake the government, so they need to respond to these allegations,” Sen. José Manuel Ormachea told reporters from Congress on Tuesday. “Otherwise, this chaos will leave them hanging by a thread.”

Paz’s government downplayed Cerimedo's influence, saying he was “a very important adviser during the campaign,” who is now "consulted from time to time.”

But his detractors, including Vice President Lara, disputed that account, describing the consultant as a powerful, shadowy figure who controlled communications and pushed government appointments.

"Paz may survive all of this,” Cagley said of the week's political setbacks. "But it’s going to be very, very bumpy."

DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

FILE - Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz speaks during a ceremony at the government palace in La Paz, Bolivia, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)