Five games into his third trip to the majors, Heston Kjerstad is making the most of his opportunity with the Baltimore Orioles. He hit his first career grand slam in a June 29 win over the Texas Rangers.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Kjerstad sent a 91.9 mph cutter from Michael Lorenzen out of the park to give Baltimore a 5-2 lead. The ball traveled 395 feet through center field.
“Close game, sold-out stadium, bases loaded, those are the moments you want to be a part of,” Kjerstad told reporters postgame.
Kjerstad received a standing ovation, or “curtain call,” from the Camden Yards crowd after the big-league milestone.
“It was awesome,” Kjerstad said of the ovation. “Honestly, at first I didn’t even know it was a curtain call or anything. There were a bunch of guys in the dugout yelling at me to hop out there, take my hat off. So that was really cool to be a part of that.”
The 25-year-old outfielder enjoyed the moment, but is determined to ride the momentum.
“I’m hitting well right now,” Kjerstad said. “I just want to keep it rolling and keep doing it. That’s the type of player I am and that’s the type of player I want to be when I come to the park, so that way I can help this team win and help this team for a playoff push down the road.”
Kjerstad is the Orioles’ number four prospect on MLB.com. He’s batting .269/.424/.538 through 26 at-bats since being recalled.
Orioles Make History in Win
Anthony Santander kicked off the scoring for Baltimore with a home run in the bottom of the second.
It’s his 13th in the month of June, and 22nd on the season. But it made for a 59th Orioles’ home run in June, which is the most of any month in franchise history.
Kjerstad’s grand slam then marked the 60th home run of the month. According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, that’s the third-most all-time, behind the 2019 New York Yankees (74) and 2023 Atlanta Braves (61).
Baltimore is so hot that Kjerstad was intentionally walked in favor of Jordan Westburg, who’s batting .285 this year with 13 home runs.
“This is a stacked lineup,” Kjerstad said on June 29. “I don’t know who you’d actually want to face throughout it, because it’s so deep.”
Following the two hits from Kjerstad and Santander, the Orioles lead MLB in home runs through 83 games this season with 139. They finished 2023 with 183 in nearly twice as many games.
Cade Povich Earns 1st Career Win
It was a night of firsts at Camden Yards. A few innings after Kjerstad’s grand slam hit, a 6-5 final score cemented Cade Povich‘s first MLB win.
The rookie pitcher had an 0-2 record entering the game against the Rangers. He pitched five innings, allowing two solo home runs and no walks.
“It’s awesome, obviously,” Povich told reporters postgame. “First major league win, but more importantly, a team win and continuing to just try to stack those together.”
Team skipper Brandon Hyde praised the 24-year-old while acknowledging two bad pitches that lead to a pair of Texas homers.
“Just a couple bad pitches, that’s it,” Hyde said on June 29. “Gave us a great chance to win and used all of his pitches well.”
Povich made his MLB debut on June 6. He’s pitched five games for Baltimore, and holds a 4.05 ERA.
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