July 12, 2026, 9:16 p.m. ET
The Baltimore Orioles swept the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. It cost them their best hitter.
Orioles third baseman Blaze Alexander suffered what the team said is a non-displaced fracture in his left hand when he was hit by a pitch from Royals reliever Lucas Erceg in the seventh inning of Baltimore’s 8-2 win at Camden Yards.
The plunking emptied both dugouts and bullpens.
Erced hit Alexander with a 95.5 mile an hour fastball one batter after Samuel Basallo homered to make it 8-2. Alexander took exception. He got a few steps down the first-base line, then turned and shouted at Erceg. Manager Craig Albernaz grabbed him as players spilled onto the field from the dugout and both bullpens. No punches were thrown. Nobody was ejected. Bench coach Donnie Ecker walked Alexander to the dugout, and Coby Mayo came on to run for him.
Erceg told reporters there was no intent behind the pitch. He apologized and said he understood why Alexander was angry. He also said he felt Alexander was annoyed because he worked quickly and started his windup before the hitter was fully set in the box.
The timing could hardly be worse for the Orioles, who head into the All-Star break at 46-51, winners of four straight and still within reach of a wild-card spot.
Alexander leads the Orioles with a .312 batting average and was having another big day before he got hit. He went 2-for-2 with a walk and scored twice. Since April 28, he is hitting .355 with a .400 on-base percentage, and he has given Baltimore innings at third base, second base, shortstop and all three outfield positions.
The non-displaced fracture is not expected to require surgery, but Albernaz said he was heading out for more tests during the All-Star break to determine his recovery timeline. Injuries of this type typically require at least a month on the injured list.
