Of all the amazing things Baltimore Orioles players did on Monday night, it was telling that all of them who spoke following their thrilling comeback 9-7 victory said the most impressive performance came from their manager.

If you need to know anything about Craig Albernaz, you now know it from what happened in the game. After taking Jeremiah Jackson’s 70 mph foul liner to his jaw, Albernaz re-emerged in the dugout a few innings later — a purple bruise blossoming on his cheek.

“The fact he didn’t go to the ground shows how tough of an SOB he is,” said left-hander Trevor Rogers, who was feet away from impact. “And the fact he wanted to come back to the dugout, he’s got a big set of balls on him.”

It felt like an unwitting tribute — the kind no one would want to make — to former Orioles catcher James McCann, who was sitting in the opposing dugout for the Diamondbacks.

Every baseball fan in Baltimore remembers in 2024 when McCann took a 94 mph fastball to the face, readjusting his nose. Yet McCann continued to play in the first game of a doubleheader.

Like McCann, Albernaz showed he was one tough dude by returning to the game. But it wasn’t just a macho act.

It’s not a stretch to say that the Orioles don’t win the game — which saw them score eight unanswered runs to catch Arizona from behind — if Albernaz doesn’t stick around.

The most important effect was that Jeremiah Jackson had to see that Albernaz was OK.

Imagine being in Jackson’s position — a second-year big-league player trying to take advantage of every opportunity that comes his way. In his second at-bat of the game, he whacked a foul ball that took out his own manager.

“I hit it, and I kind of saw Alby holding his face,” he said. “Heart kind of dropped.”

The next stretch of the game, Jackson said, was “kind of a blur for 30, 45 minutes out there.” It’s hard to imagine how the 26-year-old could have collected himself. But it happened when he saw Albernaz was smiling at him and saying he would be OK.

In his next at-bat, Jackson hit the grand slam that kick-started the comeback. Albernaz was soon back in the dugout to give him a hug. Because Jackson needed him to be there.

“He was fired up,” Jackson said. “He knew I felt bad. He knew I was kind of in my head. But to see him pop out there and enjoy the moment with us just goes to show the sort of person that he is and the competitor that he is. And I think that kind of trickles down into the team.”

That seems to be the story so far of these Orioles, a group that has now scratched its way into the thick of the AL East with a fiery mentality. And if their manager can take a liner to the face and “rub some dirt on it” as Pete Alonso put it, so can they.

The Orioles of the past two seasons had talent, but too often they did not have enough fight. They stagnated in 2024. They bottomed out in 2025. Injuries played a part, but they would blank out for entire series — all the more confounding because they hadn’t been swept in 106 straight regular season series in their initial liftoff.

While it’s still early with just about 10% of the season in the books, the Orioles have demonstrated an ability to make the best of what they’ve got. It’s hard to imagine them winning a game with a 7-1 deficit last season, especially with the mounting injuries they have.

To start the series with Arizona, they were missing several key pitchers, as well as their penciled-in starting third baseman, second baseman and catcher.

Tyler O’Neill is out with a mysterious off-day concussion, Dietrich Enns is out with a freak foot infection, and Ryan Mountcastle has a foot fracture from running the bases. Less than a month in, it has already been a weird injury year.

But the offense roared to life late in Monday’s game thanks to poise from players like Jackson who weren’t expected to be in major roles when this season started.

While Alonso got his own long-awaited star turn with a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning, he marveled at how Jackson steadied himself after the initial foul ball incident, putting himself on track for his first-ever two-homer big league game. In Alonso’s mind, the process started when Jackson, who was down 0-2 in the count after the foul ball, managed to get himself to first with a softly hit infield single.

“To be able to recenter and refocus after the ball hit Craig, that takes a lot of stones to do that,” Alonso said. “And he recentered himself and he got on base. That’s a really tough, gritty at-bat.”

There’s a lot of grit to go around, and it’s key that everyone play their part to keep it going. The Orioles don’t win without Jackson’s thrilling home runs, which sucked the air out of Arizona’s dugout.

And he doesn’t hit those home runs without seeing Albernaz smiling through his wounds for the team to take note.

“I think that whole situation tonight, one, it speaks to the competitive character of the players,” said bench coach Donnie Ecker, who took on postgame press conference duties for Albernaz as he received follow-up medical scans. “It really speaks to what Alby has been leading here and kind of modeling in terms of the culture we want to create.”

From their manager’s lead, the Orioles took back a game that they had every right to lose. If you’re looking for signs of how Baltimore handles adversity this season, Monday night’s game is a promising indication of how much fight they’ll have in the months to come.

Jackson said it’s the kind of spirit Albernaz has helped inspire already, in a very short span.

“He’s special,” Jackson said. “We love playing behind him. We love playing for him. He’s awesome, so it’s been a lot of fun to be with him, and he’s definitely set a good tone in here and in the dugout, and it makes it fun to go out there and battle for him.”

Turns out that it’s fun to watch, too.