Peter Schmuck: Kjerstad picks the perfect time for his first hit this season for Orioles

It was beginning to look like the dark clouds that were passing over Camden Yards in the late innings of Monday’s 8-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox were meant only for young outfielder Heston Kjerstad.

What was otherwise a very upbeat home opener had not gone so well for the kid who manager Brandon Hyde had plugged into the five-hole run-production slot in the lineup. He had come up with multiple runners on base in his first two at-bats and struck out each time. He also struck out to lead off the sixth inning as the O’s sought to widen a slim lead with rainy weather looming.

So, when Kjerstad came up for the fourth time in his third two-on, no-out situation, he needed to do something to justify that place in the batting order.

Funny how things work out sometimes. Not only did he come through in a huge personal pressure situation, slicing an opposite field single to score a crucial run, but the skies started to clear and the anticipated rain and possible thunderstorm that forced Monday’s game time to be moved up never materialized. It had to feel good.

“For sure, any time you get a hit and – most importantly – any time you get an important run across the board to help your team, I’m always pumped up,’’ Kjerstad said, “and in the eighth inning, helping to give us a little bigger lead, I was probably even more pumped up just because of the situation in the game. Always fun to get a hit. Always fun to score runs for the team and really fun to win games.”

Hyde was glad to see it, especially on the day after watching starting leftfielder Colton Cowser fracture his thumb on an ill-advised head-first slide into first base at Rogers Centre. And especially after Kjerstad had been hitless in his first eight plate appearances of the season and had struck out in five of them.

“To have three tough at-bats and to be able to stay on the baseball that last one, Heston’s a good hitter,’’ Hyde said. “He’s got a ton of power, but he’s a good hitter. He can use the whole field and when he does, good things happen.”

If it seemed curious that Hyde inserted him into the fifth spot in the lineup and moved hot-hitting Cedric Mullins down to seventh, but it worked out on both ends. Mullins delivered a pair of two-run hits, capping a four run first inning with a two-out double that scored Tyler O’Neill and Ryan Mountcastle and following up Kjerstad’s clutch hit with a game-breaking two-run single.

Kjerstad appreciated the show of confidence from his manager.

“Being anywhere in that lineup is awesome,’’ Kjerstad said. “We’ve got a deep lineup one through nine. Wherever you’re at. Whatever the day. You’ve still got an objective. Go up there and help the team win. Do wherever you can to put runs up on the board.”