Williams and Hess rejoin Orioles

The Orioles have summoned outfielder Mason Williams and pitcher David Hess from the alternate camp site in Bowie.

Williams can only return if he's replacing an injured player, making his arrival likely tied to outfielder Anthony Santander, who left the early game of yesterday's doubleheader with a sore oblique.

Santander was undergoing tests earlier today.

The 40-man roster had two openings, so no corresponding move would be necessary to accommodate Williams.

The Orioles outrighted Williams yesterday after he cleared waivers. He went 2-for-11 after replacing outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. on the roster.

Santander is batting .261/.315/.575 with 13 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs and 32 RBIs in 37 games. He's posted a career-best 1.5 WAR per baseball-reference.com.

The Orioles shut down Santander last September due to a sore shoulder and slow-played him in the outfield in spring training.

Hess is providing a fresh arm after the doubleheader, with a pitcher likely to be option in order to make room for him. He's made three relief appearances and allowed five runs and 10 hits in seven innings.

No moves have been announced this afternoon.

DJ Stewart was in the outfield for both games of yesterday's doubleheader and is 0-for-16 this summer with nine walks, 10 strikeouts and a hit-by-pitch. He's slashing .000/.385/.000.

"It's going to come," manager Brandon Hyde said last night in a Zoom conference call. "He's just got to continue taking really, really good at-bats, and if he keeps working the process the results will be there at the end, because I do like the at-bats that he's taking. Got deep into counts a lot of his at-bats. One at-bat he fouled off a bunch of pitches, took a walk.

"I think with the BP that he takes and what we've seen from him in spring training and summer camp, he's going to hit some line drives and leave the ballpark sometime soon."

Keegan Akin is making his second major league start. He faced the Blue Jays Monday and allowed two unearned runs with six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

Gerrit Cole is 4-2 with a 3.91 ERA and 1.109 WHIP in eight starts this season. He's struck out 60 batters in 46 innings.

Cole has struggled in his last two starts, allowing nine runs and 13 hits with five home runs surrendered in 10 innings. He's walked six batters and struck out 16.

In a July 29 start against the Orioles, Cole allowed three runs and four hits with seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Smith hit a two-run homer.

Reliever Branden Kline made his 2020 debut with the Orioles in the opener of the doubleheader, inherited a bases-loaded mess and tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings with a hit, walk and three strikeouts.

Kline had his contract selected from the alternate camp site.

"His stuff's always been there," Hyde said. "It's a mid-to-upper 90s fastball with a slider and split. Did a nice job against Gary Sánchez, punching him out, and then he did a really nice job the next inning, also. So he did a really nice job keeping us in the game.