Sure, the surging Baltimore Orioles have wrapped up the first half of the season, but the final chapter at Camden Yards ended on a painful note. The Orioles entered Sunday’s finale riding a three-game winning streak, and their five-run rally in the sixth inning appeared to put them on course for a sweep of the Kansas City Royals. But before they could complete it, an unfortunate incident concerning Blaze Alexander stole the spotlight. 

“Alexander suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left hand as a result of the HBP, per Craig Albernaz,” Foul Territory captioned a clip posted on their X account. 

Samuel Basallo’s home run helped the Orioles extend the lead to 8-2 in the seventh. Following that homer, Alexander came to the plate and faced 7 pitches from Royals pitcher Lucas Erceg. However, the final one awarded him a walk as a 95-mph fastball hit him on the left hand. He tried to get out of the way, but his hand remained in the path of the pitch because of his grip on the bat. The 27-year-old immediately dropped his bat and started walking toward the dugout.

At that moment, though, he turned back toward the pitcher and started saying something. And his expression explicitly indicated that he was not happy. He kept voicing his displeasure as he was held back by Albernaz. The umpire immediately came forth to de-escalate the matter, but it merely took seconds for both teams to empty their dugouts and gather on the field. Soon enough, Erceg was sent back to the mound while bench coach Donnie Ecker escorted Alexander into the dugout. 

Manager Craig Albernaz didn’t seem happy as Alexander went through the tunnel and Coby Mayo replaced him as a runner. 

“You know it hurts, but he has a good attitude about it,” Albernaz said. “Blaze will be around and see where he’s at rehab-wise and go from there.”

The third baseman is set to meet with a doctor during the All-Star break this week, as per the team’s manager. While the status remains undecided, Alexander’s absence might prove more troublesome for the Orioles. 

Baltimore Orioles’ uphill playoff push suffers another major setback

Luckily, the injury didn’t have any impact on the score as the Orioles managed an 8-2 win to sweep the Royals. Baltimore is now fourth with a 46-51 record in the AL East, but that doesn’t make anything easier for the franchise. 

They have 8 players on the injured list. Two (maybe three) of them aren’t returning this season, and 3 more are still undecided. Blaze Alexander’s IL trip will further increase the woes for the team. 

The young player is batting at .312 and has a .807 OPS. Alexander went 2-for-2 before the HBP in the seventh. He is one of the bright spots on the team, and that’s why Albernaz termed his injury a “gut punch.” 

And it’s not just the manager. His teammates share the same concern. 

“Losing him — not just his skill set, but also losing the performance night in, night out — yeah, it’s a tough one. I’ve had broken hands before, so I know that’s kind of not an easy pill to swallow. It’s really frustrating. But I hope he has a really quick and speedy recovery,” Pete Alonso said.

However, the pitcher who hit him made it clear that it wasn’t intentional. Although a brief heated exchange was noticed, the situation never got out of hand. 

“From a fan’s perspective, you can probably see that. But I’m out there trying to get outs, not trying to hit guys,” Erceg said. “I know a couple of guys on the Orioles, and they’re good people. Don’t need to tarnish your reputation by going out and hitting guys.”

While he mentioned having no ill intent, the Baltimore Orioles clubhouse will pray to have Alexander back on the field before the second half to remain in the chase.