After scary injury to Albernaz, Jackson, Alonso lead Orioles to stirring comeback win, 9-7 over D-backs

BALTIMORE- What happened? On a night when Orioles manager Craig Albernaz was forced to leave the dugout after he was hit by a foul ball off Jeremiah Jackson’s bat, Jackson and his teammates engineered a stirring comeback.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, a foul ball off Jackson’s bat hit Albernaz, who was standing on the top step of the dugout, on the lower jaw on the right side of his face. He was immediately escorted from the dugout and down the runway by team personnel.

“I hit it, and I kind of saw Alby holding his face,” Jackson said. “Heart kind of dropped. It was kind of a weird 15 minutes ‘til I was able to see him afterwards and see that he was doing OK. But, yeah, I’m just happy he’s OK.”

The Orioles were trailing 7-1 in the bottom of the sixth when Leody Taveras singled to score Pete Alonso, who doubled to lead off the inning, and send Dylan Beavers, who had singled, to second. Colton Cowser walked to load the bases.

Jackson, who singled right after his foul ball injured Albernaz, hit a grand slam to left. It was the Orioles’ first grand slam this season, and it brought the Orioles to within 7-6.

Albernaz, who did not address the media after the game, briefly returned to the dugout and hugged Jackson after the grand slam.

“That was awesome,” Jackson said. “Never want to hurt anybody, and Alby’s awesome, so it sucked, but he wore it well and he’s in good spirits, so it definitely made me feel better.”

In the bottom of the seventh, Taylor Ward was hit by a pitch by Jonathan Loáisiga, and Alonso hit his second home run of the season to give the Orioles an 8-7 lead.

Jackson hit his second home run of the game, and third of the season, in the eighth.

Dean Kremer made his first start of the season and left trailing, 4-1. He gave up three home runs but two of the runs were unearned, and he struck out nine without giving up a walk in five innings.

Albert Suárez (1-0) took over in the sixth and allowed three runs in two innings. Rico Garcia continued his outstanding work, pitching a perfect eighth. He hasn’t allowed a hit or run in 7 2/3 innings. Ryan Helsley recorded his fifth save with a perfect ninth in the Orioles’ 9-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks before 10,289 at Camden Yards on Monday night.

The Orioles (9-7) have won six of seven.

How frightening was Albernaz’s injury? Bench coach Donnie Ecker, a longtime friend, said the manager was doing well. Ecker handled the postgame media session.

“Just as a precaution right now, he is going to get scanned and we’ll have more information tomorrow,” he said.

“We sit there every game and we’re all kind of vulnerable to it and when it happens, yeah, everyone feels for him.”

Ward was standing near Albernaz when he was struck by the line drive. Albernaz tried to turn away to avoid getting hit, but the ball hit him on the right side of his face.

“Definitely scary. Obviously, I turned my head and I didn’t see him get hit, but just the visual of the ball coming in that direction was pretty frightening,” Ward said. “Hopefully, Alby’s all right. It was cool that he went back into the dugout for a short period of time after it happened after he got checked out. Hoping everything goes well with him.”

What was the comeback like? Jackson, who’s 7-for-11 in his last three games, was concerned about his manager and appreciated that Albernaz came back to the dugout to give him a hug after his grand slam.

“He was fired up,” Jackson said. “He knew I felt bad. He knew it was kind of in my head. But to see him pop out there and enjoy the moment with us just goes to show the sort of person that he is and the competitor that he is. And I think that kind of trickles down into the team.”

Alonso, who’s become a team leader, was thrilled by the Orioles’ comeback.

“Just a genuine, excited reaction,” he said. “To be able to come back from down that many runs[six], there’s no quit in this group. And for us to rally around each other, rally around skip and really come through right there, that’ s big time. That’s big time. It shows a lot of character in this group. And, yeah, having that toughness, having that grit, the bounce-back ability, it’s fantastic.”

Kremer enjoyed watching the offense overcome a six-run deficit.

“Offense is unbelievable,” he said. “I know that with watching these guys, it’s only a matter of time before they start stringing things, one after another, and today was a pretty good example of down, but never out and how quickly the script can flip.”

How was Kremer’s performance? Forgotten in all the dramatics was Kremer’s first start of the season. He allowed two home runs to Ketel Marte and one to Nolan Arenado. Suárez also allowed a home run to to Arenado in the sixth that appeared to put the game out of reach.

Kremer’s first pitch to Marte landed on Eutaw Street.

The 30-year-old right-hander was optioned to minor league camp on March 21st after the Orioles decided to make Zach Eflin the fifth starter. Eflin, who returned from back surgery last August, tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in his first start and had season-ending Tommy John surgery last Wednesday.

The demotion was not only surprising, but it stung Kremer, who led the team in innings pitched last season.

“This game is a business and it will always be a business, and the moment you forget that, things come back to bite you in the [butt],” he said. “Keep my head down and do what I need to and do whatever I can to come back up here.”

What does it mean? The Orioles have 13 players on the injured list and won a game that appeared to be lost. They hope there’s some carryover.

“You never really know until maybe a couple days down the road,” Alonso said. “So I mean, hopefully, this continues some fantastic momentum for us.”

What’s the word? “It’s certainly a better direction that he hit that one compared to the foul ball. Those were his words.”-Ecker referring to Jackson’s home runs.  

What’s the stat of the day? 6. The Orioles won for the first time when trailing by six or more runs since May 27^th, 2022.

What’s next? Trevor Rogers (2-0, 1.89) will start against Merrill Kelly, who’ll be making his season debut on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich,@BaltimoreBaseball.com