O'Hearn provides update on sore knee, Kjerstad relieved to be playing again after concussion (lineup change)

ARLINGTON, Texas – Ryan O’Hearn has his left knee wrapped after being hit last night by a 95.1 mph fastball from Rangers reliever Daniel Robert. He’s out of the lineup but would have been on the bench with the Orioles facing left-hander Andrew Heaney.

O’Hearn stayed down as head athletic trainer Brian Ebel and manager Brandon Hyde rushed onto the field in the seventh inning. O’Hearn finally rose to his feet, walked to first base and refused to come out.

“Got a lot of family here, I don’t get to play here very often,” said O’Hearn, a Florida native who grew up in Texas and attended Sam Houston State. “Had probably 15 people in the stands, so I wanted to stay in the game, and glad I did.”

The other reason was the home run that O’Hearn hit off José Leclerc in the ninth inning. He lifted a slider 387 feet to left-center field and made it around the bases.

“Felt good,” he said. “I’ve been driving the ball to left field pretty well lately. I know in Camden that’s probably an out, but to be able to get it out opposite field here, it feels good.

“That’s the first time I’ve hit a home run against the Rangers in Texas going back to the old stadium over the years. Finally get one here in front of my family and stuff is very cool.”

Could O’Hearn had legged out a triple if the ball didn’t clear the fence?

“If my leg is feeling fine, probably no triple,” he replied, “but with the bruise, definitely no triple.”

The ball didn’t leave a seam imprint on the knee and O’Hearn said he could play today, but he’s walking with a slight limp.

“Better than I thought. It’s obviously very sore but it feels better than I thought it was going to,” he said.

“I could go in there for sure.”

The club is off Monday, which gives O’Hearn more time to recover.

“Definitely going to enjoy the off-day in Miami,” he said. “Try to get that sweep today and get out of here.”

O’Hearn will take a record with him. He’s the only player in American League history, and the third overall, to walk twice, be hit by two pitches and homer in the same game. The Pirates’ Jung Ho Kang did it on Sept. 16, 2016 in Cincinnati, and the Reds’ Devin Mesoraco followed on June 23, 2014 at Wrigley Field.

Heston Kjerstad also is out of today’s lineup against a left-hander. He played right field last night after his reinstatement from the seven-day concussion injured list.

Yankees closer Clay Holmes nailed Kjerstad on the ear flap of his batting helmet on June 12, and the young outfielder was scratched from the next night’s lineup and put on the IL.

“It probably took a couple days, maybe like three or four days, until I felt finally back to normal,” he said. “Luckily, been feeling good for probably the last three days. Definitely glad to be back.

“Anytime you take a pitch to the head, it can be pretty bad, but it could have been a lot worse. Getting out of that one with a mild concussion is probably best-case scenario. Thankfully we’ve got some good trainers and good doctors around to make sure you’re all good. But it’s part of the game. It’s one of those things you never want to see happen to any one of your teammates or anyone you play against. You definitely don’t want it to happen to yourself. But you’ve just got to wear it and get through it.”

This wasn’t the first time that Kjerstad got hit in the head, but he never experienced that kind of impact.

“A couple times, but nothing like square me up,” he said. “Maybe like graze off, something like that.”

Kjerstad passed the concussion tests and reached the point where exercise didn't cause headaches and dizziness, but had another challenge awaiting him. Dig in at the plate and don’t shy away from inside pitches.

“There’s a little bit, get in the box, you’ve got to get comfortable again,” he said. “It may take a few at-bats, whatever. It’s just like anything. You might have some subtle thoughts but it’s a rarity in the game. I’ve taken a lot of ABs and something like that’s happened once, so it is what it is. Small chance for it to happen again.”

The incident led to both dugouts and bullpen emptying and manager Brandon Hyde’s ejection after a heated exchange with the Yankees bench.

Kjerstad was preoccupied.

“At the moment I was concentrating on my health and safety and well-being,” Kjerstad said. “I wasn’t really too worried about what was going on on the field and everything. But it’s part of the game. When two teams kind of get into it like that, it escalates, teams get heated in situations like that. It’s just part of it.”

For the Rangers

Marcus Semien 2B
Corey Seager SS
Josh Smith 3B
Wyatt Langford LF
Adolis García RF
Nathaniel Lowe 1B
Jonah Heim C
Justin Foscue DH
Leody Taveras CF

Andrew Heaney LHP

* The Orioles changed their lineup. Gunnar Henderson is in it and batting leadoff. Ramón Urías goes to the bench. Jorge Mateo goes from shortstop to second base.

Gunnar Henderson SS
Adley Rutschman DH
Anthony Santander RF
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Jordan Westburg 3B
Austin Hays LF
Colton Cowser CF
Jorge Mateo 2B
James McCann C

Dean Kremer RHP