Between Pete Alonso and Shane Baz, the Orioles committed $223 million in contracts over the offseason in the hopes of spending their way to the next level.

Just 13 games into the season, they’d probably wish for more return on that heavy investment.

Friday night’s series-opening 6-3 loss to the Giants was not a good evening for either of the Orioles who signed the team’s two biggest contracts of the last five months. Alonso’s hitting struggles dragged on with two strikeouts with runners in scoring position, while Baz’s start unraveled in the middle innings as he gave up a lot of hard contact.

The hard-slugging first baseman is having trouble hitting the ball, and the hard-throwing right-handed pitcher is having difficulty missing bats. Given that the Orioles (6-7) are poised to shell out big bucks for them through 2030, their challenges have carried a bit more weight than run-of-the-mill early-season slumps.

When the Orioles’ offense has experienced flashes of success, it has largely been in spite of Alonso rather than because of him. Against the Giants, they needed more from the Polar Bear.

In the third inning, a dream scenario unfolded: Gunnar Henderson walked, and Adley Rutschman doubled (one of two doubles he hit in the game). With the homegrown stars in scoring position, it set the stage for Alonso — the franchise’s headlining free agent with 264 home runs in his previous seven seasons — to change the 1-0 deficit into an Orioles lead with one good swing.

Unfortunately, Alonso has been searching for good swings lately. He struck out for the second time to spoil the team’s golden chance, and the long wait for a star turn from the first baseman continues.

Alonso is hitting .176 with a .525 OPS, and he’s just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position. In his career, Alonso has hit .264 with RISP — everybody, including himself, knows he’s capable of much more than he’s brought to Baltimore so far.

When asked about Alonso’s early power outage, manager Craig Albernaz exhaled deeply before deftly choosing his words.

“I wouldn’t say ‘thinking too much’ is the right frame to put it in, but I think with any hitter, when they’re in a good spot, they’re kind of just ‘see ball, hit ball,’” he said. “It looks like he’s trying to handle too much as far as the prep in his approach ... like he’s kind of searching a little bit on that end.”

Within the Orioles clubhouse, there is a strong belief that Alonso will turn it around. While Alonso chucked a wristband to the ground in frustration walking back to his locker after the game, his teammates were hopeful about his long-term prospects.

“Everybody goes through that [a slump] sometimes — even the best players in the game, and I believe he’s one of the best players in the game," catcher Samuel Basallo said through team translator Brandon Quinones. “It’s just a matter of days until he gets it going soon, and at the end of the season we’ll be looking at him as one of the best players.”

Meanwhile, Baz’s tab is running up quickly. After the Orioles traded four prospects and a draft pick to get him in December, they signed him to a long-term deal last month before his first start for the team.

None of his three starts has been great, but Friday’s was the least impressive. Baz gave up nine hits and two walks across five innings. All things considered, limiting his earned runs to three was a massive achievement.

San Francisco’s Willy Adames was the first to crack Baz in the third inning with a 402-foot homer. But the fourth inning saw the Giants truly shake him.

Five of the first six batters he faced made hard contact, and four reached base. When Adames knocked in Heliot Ramos for a 3-0 lead, it felt like the game was slipping away from Baltimore.

“Just a couple times where I think the [pitch] sequence could have landed on fastball instead of cutter or curveball,” Baz said. “They were able to put it in play.”

Still, Baz left with the game in reach, including a shutout fifth inning. But recent trade acquisition Nick Raquet couldn’t keep it close, surrendering three runs in the seventh inning in his Orioles debut.

The last gasp for the O’s came with one out left in the ninth inning. Henderson swatted a two-run homer (his fifth of the year) to the flag court to cut the lead to three runs, then Taylor Ward launched his league-leading 10th double of the season to threaten a late rally. But a Rutschman pop-up ended the threat.

It was meant to be a festive affair. The team debuted its new City Connect jerseys that draw inspiration from the color scheme and building materials of Camden Yards. But, even in their cream-and-green uniforms, the Orioles didn’t look so sharp at the plate or on the mound.

One notable exception was Rutschman, who notched three of the team’s seven hits. His early-season success has sparked hope that the former All-Star is on the cusp of career resurgence.

For Alonso and Baz, however, Orioles fans are still waiting for the investment to start paying back.

This article has been updated.