Orioles put Alexander on injured list; hope Henderson avoids similar fate

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles have placed versatile Blaze Alexander on the 10-day injured list and are hopeful that shortstop Gunnar Henderson can recover quickly from a knee injury that left him out of the starting lineup Wednesday night against Cleveland.

Alexander was forced from Tuesday's game against the Guardians with lower back spasms. His condition did not significantly improve by Wednesday, so the Orioles put him on the IL with lower back discomfort and recalled Jeremiah Jackson from Triple-A Norfolk.

Alexander has played three different infield positions and all three spots in the outfield during his first season with Baltimore. Despite missing significant time with a fractured hand, he's batting .303 with four homers and 31 RBIs in 93 games.

Jackson started at second base in the series finale Wednesday night.

Henderson fouled a pitch from Hunter Gaddis off his left knee in the eighth inning of Tuesday's game. Henderson stayed in the game, but the knee locked up him as he ran toward second base on a grounder. At that point, he was removed from the game.

Manager Craig Albernaz said Wednesday that Henderson was day to day, adding, “he's pretty banged up.”

Although Henderson is struggling through a down season in which he's batting just ,219, he ranks second on the team in both home runs (22) and RBIs (57).

Having lost seven of eight through Tuesday and fading in the AL wild-card chase, the Orioles can ill afford to be without Henderson — and Alexander, for that matter — over their final 16 games.

Jackson Holliday started at shortstop on Wednesday night.

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