Orioles place Heston Kjerstad on concussion list after hit by pitch

The Orioles placed outfielder Heston Kjerstad on the seven-day concussion injured list Saturday after the rookie didn’t feel 100% during pregame workouts.

Kjerstad was hit by a 97-mph sinker in the head Friday night and left the game, although he was initially in Baltimore’s starting lineup for the second game of the series against the New York Yankees. Kjerstad was scratched from the lineup, and now he’ll miss a week — although part of that will be over the All-Star break.

The Orioles called up outfielder Kyle Stowers to replace Kjerstad.

After Kjerstad was hit by an errant pitch from right-hander Clay Holmes, a brief benches-clearing shoving match ensued, led by Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. Hyde, reacting to what he perceived to be waving and shouting from the Yankees dugout, was held back by catcher Austin Wells before the dugouts spilled out and a huddle formed near home plate.

There were no punches thrown and, while Hyde was ejected, Major League Baseball issued no suspensions.

On Saturday afternoon, Hyde commended Kjerstad’s toughness and was relieved that a serious injury hadn’t occurred. But, as Saturday developed, symptoms apparently worsened for Kjerstad, leading to his removal from the lineup and injured list stint.

There has been intense focus on hit batters between the Orioles and Yankees this year, with 10 Orioles hit to three Yankees.

“When you’re facing good hitters, you’ve got to be able to pitch to both sides of the plate,” Hyde said. “Pitching in is part of the game. Whether they’ve hit more guys than us or not, that’s not something I’m really concerned about right now. I want to win. And what we’ve done is won a lot these past couple years, so that’s my main focus right now. Definitely want to see your players not get hurt.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he spoke with Hyde after Friday’s game. Boone didn’t elaborate on the conversation other than that it went “fine.”