Orioles manager Craig Albernaz was struck in the face by a 70 mph foul ball off the bat of infielder Jeremiah Jackson on Monday night.

Standing on the top step of the dugout in the fifth inning of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Albernaz attempted to turn away from the line-drive foul ball but couldn’t avoid it. He quickly exited the dugout, taking the stairs down toward the clubhouse.

Bench coach Donnie Ecker took over managerial duties.

But by the sixth inning, Albernaz had returned to the dugout, just in time to see Jackson hit a grand slam. On the broadcast, he and Jackson seemed to share a joke. The infielder went 3-for-3 after hitting his manager with a foul ball.

“I hit it, and I kind of saw Alby holding his face,” Jackson said. “Heart kind of dropped. It was kind of a weird 15 minutes ’til I was able to see him afterwards and see that he was doing OK. But yeah, I’m just happy he’s OK.”

Ecker, who took questions from the media after the team’s 9-7 comeback win, said Albernaz is “doing good” and will have precautionary testing and scans.

“We sit there every game and we’re all kind of vulnerable to it and when it happens, yeah, everyone feels for him,” Ecker said.

After Jackson’s grand slam in the sixth inning cut Baltimore’s deficit to 7-6, cameras for Mid-Atlantic Sports Network found Albernaz had returned. His face had a clear red mark.

“Always scary when someone gets squared up like that,” said Pete Alonso, who hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning. “I’m glad he’s OK. Obviously, that stinks. He’s a tough guy. He definitely rubbed some dirt on it and came back in the dugout after J.J. hit that homer. But yeah, it could have been a lot worse. Just happy that Craig is OK.”

Albernaz left the dugout again and did not return.

Albernaz was hired as Baltimore’s manager this winter. It’s his first full-time managerial role in the majors. He previously managed in the minors and served on coaching staffs for the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Guardians.

There is some history at Camden Yards of Orioles personnel being hit in the face by a ball only to tough it out. Catcher James McCann, who now plays for the Diamondbacks, was hit by a pitch to his face in 2024. He stayed in despite a broken nose.

Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers said the fact that Albernaz wasn’t knocked over by the foul ball shows “how tough of an SOB he is.”

“And the fact he wanted to come back to the dugout, he’s got a big set of balls on him,” Rogers said.

Added Jackson: “He wore it well and he’s in good spirits, so it definitely made me feel better.”

This story has been updated.