[Baltimore Sun] Heston Kjerstad’s first career grand slam powers Orioles’ 6-5 win over Rangers
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Heston Kjerstad is finally getting his chance to play on a regular basis. He’s taking full advantage.
The Orioles’ outfield prospect started Saturday for the fourth time in six games and rewarded his club’s confidence with a go-ahead grand slam to help beat the Texas Rangers, 6-5, in front of a sold-out crowd of 44,286 at Camden Yards. It was the first grand slam, and fourth home run, of his young career.
Kjerstad, 25, has done everything right to earn an everyday job at the major league level. Baseball America’s No. 23 overall prospect has crushed Triple-A pitching this season, posting a .998 OPS with 16 home runs in 56 games with the Norfolk Tides. He earned a call-up once this year already, but at-bats were sparse as the Orioles (53-30) only fit him in for 17 plate appearances across nearly three weeks.
Now, Kjerstad is back and finally getting the opportunity he has been waiting for the last two years. After admitting Thursday he was pressing during his first stint with the Orioles this season, Kjerstad is feeling more comfortable this time around and it’s showing through the results. Kjerstad is 5-for-12 (.417) with two home runs, a double and seven RBIs. He’s only struck out once over that span.
His blast came at a critical juncture of the game. The Orioles trailed 2-1 in the fifth after Derek Hill’s solo home run off Cade Povich gave Texas the lead. Baltimore countered a Rangers first-inning home run by Corey Seager with one by Anthony Santander, but Rangers starter Michael Lorenzen had limited the Orioles to one other hit through the first four frames.
Gunnar Henderson, who turned 23 on Saturday, reversed that trend with a one-out hustle double to left-center field. Ryan O’Hearn and Anthony Santander then drew back-to-back walks, bringing up Kjerstad for just his 32nd plate appearance of the season. He caught an inside cutter on the barrel and sent it 395 feet to right field.
The home run helped Povich pick up the first win of his MLB career. He went five innings, holding the Rangers to two runs on five hits and zero walks with three strikeouts. Povich has completed at least five innings in four of his five starts since getting the call from Triple-A; he’s posted a 4.05 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 10 walks.
Santander’s homer was part of a historic 2-for-3 evening. The Orioles’ switch-hitting right fielder hit his 13th home run of the month, tying Frank Robinson and Nelson Cruz for the most home runs any month in franchise history. His home run was also the Orioles’ 59th of the month as a team, another new record that was extended to 60 on Kjerstad’s shot. Santander then added a key insurance run in the seventh with a ground-rule double.
That run proved to be crucial as the Rangers kept it close against the Orioles’ bullpen. Nathaniel Lowe hit a two-run wall-scraper off Bryan Baker in the sixth and Adolis García went deep against Jacob Webb for a solo shot in the eighth. However, Yennier Cano bounced back from a rough outing Friday with a scoreless seventh, Cionel Pérez relieved Webb to get through the eighth and Craig Kimbrel secured his second one-run save in as many days after going the entire season without one heading into this weekend.
Not only did the Orioles hand the Rangers their sixth loss in a row — and third straight to open this series — but star shortstop Seager also left the game after being hit in the left wrist on a pitch by Povich in the fifth. X-rays were negative and the Rangers announced he would be reevaluated Sunday. His status for the series finale is uncertain.
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The Orioles have now won four straight, nearly erasing the five-game losing streak that preceded it. They’ll look for their second four-game sweep of the season Saturday when they send Cole Irvin to the mound against Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney.
Around the horn
The Orioles added infielder Connor Norby to their taxi squad Saturday in case a spot on their roster opened up because of injury. Norby, who made his MLB debut June 3 in Toronto, has yet to appear in a game at Camden Yards. “I took a picture of my jerseys,” Norby said. “But yeah, it’s always cool to be one of the guys that they’re trusting if something does happen.”
Norby’s trip from Norfolk came with Jordan Westburg and Austin Hays dealing with knee injuries that stemmed from plays in the field earlier this week. Both sat out Friday night’s 2-1 win against Texas and worked out with trainers on the field ahead of the game Saturday. Westburg returned to the lineup but Hays remained on the bench. Though manager Brandon Hyde was hopeful pregame Hays could pinch hit, the Orioles never used him.
Baltimore has yet to announce its rotation for this week’s series against the Seattle Mariners because of the uncertainty surrounding Corbin Burnes and Dean Kremer. Burnes went on the paternity list Friday and he plans to meet the team in Seattle to determine when he’ll make his next start. Kremer (triceps strain) made his third rehabilitation start Thursday.
Infielder Terrin Vavra returned to Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday after completing a rehab assignment with High-A Aberdeen. Vavra landed on the injured list with a left groin strain June 7. He’s hitting .281 with two home runs and an .801 OPS in 17 games with Norfolk this season.
Baltimore Sun reporter Jacob Calvin Meyer contributed to this article.
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