One day after he was hit in the head by a pitch from Yankees closer Clay Holmes, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad landed on the seven-day concussion injured list on Saturday. In a corresponding move, the Orioles recalled outfielder Kyle Stowers from Triple-A in time for Saturday’s second game of their home series against the American League East-rival Yankees (NYY-BAL GameTracker).
In the ninth inning of Friday’s game, an eventual 4-1 win for New York, Holmes struck Kjerstad in the head with an 0-2, 96.8-mph sinker from Holmes. Kjerstad afterward appeared woozy and unsteady and was removed from the game.
The incident — and what Orioles manager Brandon Hyde perceived as an inappropriate reaction to it by the Yankees’ dugout — almost touched off a brawl:
Yankees manager Aaron Boone denied any intent behind the pitch that hit Kjerstad.
As for the 25-year-old Kjerstad, the former first-round pick has been productive in limited action for Baltimore this season. In 21 games and 60 plate appearances in the majors this year, he’s slashed .314/.417/.529 (174 OPS+) with three home runs. Coming into the season, Kjerstad was regarded as a consensus top-50 overall prospect. Kjerstad is the latest example of Baltimore’s highly successful youth movement, which has helped make it one of the best teams in baseball over the last two seasons. As for the 27-year-old Stowers, he has a career OPS+ of 81 across parts of three major-league seasons.
The Orioles entered Saturday’s contest with a record of 57-37 and a slim one-game lead over the Yankees in the division.
