WEST SACRAMENTO -- After a scary situation involving one of their biggest stars, the Orioles dodged a major bullet.
Pete Alonso was hit in the helmet by a 94.6 mph fastball in the eighth inning of Sunday’s 8-5 victory against the Athletics, drawing a large gasp from the crowd at Sutter Health Park.
After being plunked on a 1-2 count to lead off the eighth, Alonso went down to the dirt and was visited by team trainers, but he soon got back up and walked to first base under his own power. Seeming to be in good spirits despite the beaning, he was nevertheless replaced by pinch-runner Jackson Holliday.
Alonso was struck on the brim of his helmet rather than being caught flush, potentially saving him from a more serious injury.
“Pete was fine, came out fine,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “He was typical Pete in the dugout.”
Albernaz said he was already planning to have Holliday run for Alonso if the slugger got on base, protecting a player who has been dealing with a sore right calf dating back to a mid-August road series against the Rays.
Alonso was 1-for-2 with a single, a walk and two runs scored before being hit. Baltimore’s prized free-agent acquisition has been scorching hot after a slow start to the season, with his .966 OPS since the All-Star break ranking fourth among all hitters with at least 150 plate appearances in that span.
He showed no ill effects after being hit Sunday, quickly flashing a thumbs-up to A’s pitcher Kade Morris to show the rookie there were no hard feelings.
“Young pitcher on the mound, ball got away from him,” Albernaz said. “It’s one of those things: It just sucks that it happened. Pete, the total pro he is, he gets it, gets the game.”