O's lose Kjerstad to IL, division lead to Yankees

BALTIMORE -- Things finally seemed like they could be trending upward for the Orioles.

Manager Brandon Hyde arrived at Camden Yards on Saturday to good news -- Heston Kjerstad appeared to be OK and was ready to spring right back into action after taking a 96.8 mph pitch to the head on Friday night. Hyde penciled the rookie outfielder’s name into the lineup.

Plus, the O’s could have received a jolt of adrenaline from the benches-clearing fracas that occurred when Hyde stormed toward the Yankees’ dugout shortly after Kjerstad was drilled.

Things didn’t go as expected.

Kjerstad ended up getting placed on the 7-day concussion injured list -- the 25-year-old didn’t feel 100 percent when he took the field for pregame warmups -- and then, Baltimore’s losing streak reached a season-high-tying five games with a 6-1 loss to New York.

The Yanks (58-39) and O’s (57-38) are now tied atop the American League East. The winner of Sunday’s series finale (which is also the final game of the first half) will lead the division at the All-Star break.

"I mean, it was a crazy game yesterday,” said Ryan Mountcastle, who drove in Baltimore’s lone run on a fourth-inning groundout. “Trying to come out today and get a win -- didn't happen. It is what it is. It's baseball. Going to try to come back tomorrow and get a win."

Over the past month, Baltimore and New York have played in multiple intense games while jockeying for position in the AL East standings. During the June 18-20 series at Yankee Stadium, the Yanks became displeased after slugger Aaron Judge was hit by a pitch in the left hand, causing him to miss the middle contest of the three-game set.

On June 19, two standout Orioles players (Gunnar Henderson and Colton Cowser) were plunked.

On Saturday afternoon, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he and Hyde spoke following Friday’s game. How did that conversation go?

“Fine,” Boone said.

Various players in New York’s clubhouse had stated they felt Hyde was “chirping” at Holmes on the field Friday night. Baltimore’s skipper didn’t shy away from the allegations the next day.

“I was emotional,” Hyde said. “My guy got hit in the head, and I might have said some things that, at the time, I reacted to it.”

Now, a scuffling Orioles lineup is without one of the club’s hottest sluggers.

Kjerstad was hitting .378 (14-for-37) with two doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs in 14 games since being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on June 24. He was replaced on the 26-man roster by fellow outfielder Kyle Stowers, who was called up for his second big league stint of the season.

“He went out and took batting practice and just wasn’t feeling real well, and he did all the tests and everything this morning,” Hyde said. “They felt comfortable about him going out there. Once the day kind of started going along and he got out in the sun and started moving around, he started to not feel as good.”

Not long after Kjerstad was pulled, Baltimore faced a 4-0 deficit. New York pounced on right-hander Grayson Rodriguez via a Gleyber Torres RBI single and an Austin Wells three-run homer in the first inning.

The hole was too big for the slumping O’s, who have scored only four runs in 45 innings during their five-game skid (which featured getting swept in a three-game set by the Cubs). They went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, falling to 1-for-31 in those situations during the losing streak.

“At this point, it’s pressing,” Hyde said. “You see them trying to get the job done and maybe not be as relaxed as normal. They’re trying to be the guy to get the big hit for us, every single one of them down the lineup, and it’s just not happening right now.”

As the Orioles have done all week, they’ll stay optimistic heading into Sunday, when they’ll hope to retake sole possession of the AL East lead and end a strong first half on a more positive note.

They know they’re a better team than they’ve shown, and they think the tides will soon turn.

“We'll get through this. We're a really good team,” Mountcastle said. “We'll get it going soon and it's going to be fun to watch."

Added Rodriguez: “I don’t think we’re going to dwell on what we’ve done as of late. I think we’re going to look at the first half more in general. First place in the AL East, that’s hard to do. We’re going to keep grinding day in and day out and show up to the field tomorrow.”