Blaze fractures left hand on HBP, giving O’s significant ‘gut punch’

BALTIMORE — The Orioles’ first four-game winning streak of the season didn’t come without a significant “gut punch,” as manager Craig Albernaz put it. Blaze Alexander sustained a non-displaced fracture in his left hand during the seventh inning of Baltimore’s 8-2 win over Kansas City at Camden Yards on Sunday afternoon. The 27-year-old utility man was hit by a 95.5 mph four-seam fastball from right-hander Lucas Erceg — an incident that sparked a benches-clearing fracas in the aftermath — and imaging revealed the fracture. “You know it hurts, but he has a good attitude about it,” Albernaz said. “Blaze will…