Rookie Heston Kjerstad hit a grand slam in the fifth inning to give Baltimore the lead, and the Orioles held on to beat the Texas Rangers 6-5 on Saturday night, extending their winning streak to four games.
Baltimore was behind 2-1 when they loaded the bases with a double and two walks for Kjerstad. He then hit a 1-1 pitch from Michael Lorenzen (4-4) over the center-field wall for his first career grand slam. Kjerstad, who was the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, now has four home runs in his career.
“It was a close game with a full stadium. Bases loaded. Those are the moments you dream about,” Kjerstad said. “Being able to contribute to the team by scoring runs for our pitchers and helping to win the game, that’s important.”
Anthony Santander also hit a home run for the Orioles, who moved into first place in the AL East, one game ahead of the New York Yankees. Baltimore set a franchise record for most home runs in a single month with 60 in June.
Corey Seager, Derek Hill, Nathan Lowe, and Adolis García hit home runs for the Rangers, who have now lost six consecutive games for the second time this season.
Seager had to leave the game in the fifth inning after being hit on his left wrist by a pitch from rookie Cade Povich. The Rangers announced that Seager, a four-time All-Star, will undergo further evaluation on Sunday.
“The initial X-rays were negative, so that’s good news for us,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. If necessary, we’ll do another X-ray. It was a pretty solid hit, but we hope for the best.”
The defending World Series champions have now lost nine straight road games. Texas has a record of 37-46, nine games below .500 for the first time since the end of the 2022 season.
“It’s tough for these guys not to come out with a win,” Bochy said. “They played well, we had a lot of chances, we swung the bats. A lot of good things happened, but also some bad luck.”
