The Orioles couldn’t walk off the field this afternoon after sweeping the Royals and building their first four-game winning streak of the season without trudging through more adversity.

The quip about not being able to have nice things really does apply here.

Blaze Alexander suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left hand after reliever Lucas Erceg hit him with a 95.5 mph fastball in the seventh inning. The benches and bullpens emptied but no punches were thrown and order was restored right away.

It wasn’t any consolation for the Orioles, who could be without Alexander until late August or September.

The non-displacement means surgery won’t be necessary, but an X-ray after he exited the game revealed the break.

“He’s Blaze, so it hurts, but also, he has a good attitude about it,” manager Craig Albernaz said after an 8-2 victory at Camden Yards.

“Obviously we got the imaging and he’s going to see the doctor over the All-Star break, so more information there.”

Alexander has proven to be one of the most valuable players on the team since the trade with Arizona. He’s batting .312/.368/.439 in 82 games and has played six positions, earning more playing time than the expected bench role.

Alexander hit .365 with a .911 OPS in 25 games in May and .359 with a .964 OPS in 23 games in June. He went 2-for-2 today with a walk and hit-by-pitch and is 12-for-32 this month.

“Yeah, for sure, absolutely,” Albernaz said when asked if this is a gut punch. “Especially how Blaze has been playing on both sides of the ball, especially the way he’s swinging the bat.. But our guys show we’re resilient. Blaze will be around and see where he’s at rehab-wise and go from there. But yeah, definitely a gut punch.”

The injured list was down to eight players, though reliever Keegan Akin might need surgery on his left elbow. Alexander will increase the total to nine.

The team will have to find a way to overcome his loss, as it’s done with players in the rotation, bullpen and other positions.

“Blaze has been doing it this year,” said first baseman Pete Alonso. “I mean, offensively, defensively, like what he brings, not just from a performance, but like energy every single day, and then from like the versatility from his skill set, you’re able to plug and play pretty much anywhere on the dirt in the infield, and then also like he can play outfield when needed. So losing him, not just like his skill set, but also losing the performance night in night out.

“Yeah, it’s a tough one. I’ve had broken hands before, so I know that’s kind of going to be a not easy pill to swallow. It’s really frustrating, but I hope he has a really quick and speedy recovery.”

“That’s tough for us to hear that,” said outfielder Leody Taveras, who homered, singled and drove in three runs. “God will give us the acknowledgment to help him to realize he will be all right and he will be back with us.”

“It’s tough, you know?” said Shane Baz, who allowed one earned run (two total) in 4 2/3 innings. “It’s kind of a reminder to just don’t take any days for granted. You know, it’s nothing he did wrong. There’s nothing he can control there. It’s just bad luck. It sucks, but I think everyone believes that we have the pieces to step up and pick him up for this time. It’s super unfortunate.”

Samuel Basallo homered before Erceg drilled Alexander on the seventh pitch of the at-bat.

“I don’t know what Blaze said,” Erceg said. “A couple guys told me it was something about the quick pitch. But I mean, like I was telling him after I hit him, no ill intent there. Was just trying to pitch. I quick pitch to a lot of guys. Especially with two-strike counts. So I mean, I lost it a little bit up and in.

“Good hitter. I think he’s hitting three-something. Whatever, he’s had a good series, so didn’t want to miss over the plate. And I know one of his holes are up and in. So if I’m going to miss, I’m going to miss arm side and not miss over the plate. So that’s baseball.”

Coby Mayo pinch-ran for Alexander, who was restrained by Albernaz. Plate umpire Ryan Additon was first to reach Alexander up the first base line.

“I mean, guys are going to get hit, and you have to, I guess, kind of understand the situation,” Erceg said. “I understand why he’s mad. Obviously, you don’t ever want to get hit, especially in the hand. So sorry about that. But at the end of the day, I’m out there to get outs, and if I’m on a quick pitch and make you feel uncomfortable in the box, that’s what I’m gonna do. Yeah, just I said, brother, I’m just pitching out here.

“The crowd started going nuts. But no, I was just telling him I’m just trying to pitch. Got like a five-something ERA. I mean, I’m not going out there to hit guys and put guys on and give up homers and this and that.”

A roster move could be withheld until Friday, when the Orioles return from the All-Star break for a three-game series in Houston. Triple-A Norfolk’s roster includes veteran infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who plays third base and is hitting .273 with 17 home runs and an .863 OPS in 61 games. Or the Orioles could seek a more versatile player like plus-defender Luis Vázquez.

Coincidentally, Jeremiah Jackson has been working out at third base the past few days.  

Meanwhile, the Orioles are 46-51 and two games back in the Wild Card. They can move into fourth place with a Blue Jays loss in San Diego.

It was a good four-game stretch, good series,” Albernaz said. “The first two games against the Cubs in the homestand were tough and the boys responded. Good series against the Royals. They’re a gritty team with some really talented players, and our guys did a great job this whole series. Pitching was outstanding. Defense was good overall. Some hiccups but good overall, good when it needed to be. And the bats were strong these four games, which was awesome to see.”

Taveras hit the longest home run of his career at 448 feet to give the Orioles a 2-1 lead in the second inning, and he had an RBI single in a five-run sixth.

“Leody’s been outstanding,” Albernaz said. “I can’t say enough about him, the player he is, but more importantly the person, the teammate. He’s the same every day, no matter if he’s playing or not. It’s a huge at-bat right there, just the ability to move the ball forward and get things going. Sometimes you’ve got to just move it forward and good things will happen, and he did and just set everything else up after that.”

Taveras smiled and said he knew that he had 448 in him.

“I knew I hit it hard,” he said. “Didn’t realize it was that far.”

The Orioles boarded flights home for the break, concluding the first half on a high note and trying not to let Alexander’s injury drag them back down.

“It is perfect for us, honestly, to go to the All-Star break with that in mind that we can keep doing that,” Taveras said. “That’s great for us, honestly.”

“Anytime you can sweep somebody, it’s huge,” Baz said. “It leaves a better taste in our mouth going into the break. I think we’ve just been playing some complete baseball last three, four games, and just being able to put it together a little bit. It’s a much needed couple days off and then right back to it. So I think everybody’s really happy with the way that we finish that half.”

Alonso tallied his 65th RBI, the most by an Oriole before the break since Manny Machado in 2018.

“Just because we won a couple games, just because we had a good week and a half, doesn’t mean that continued success is guaranteed,” Alonso said. “We’ve got a tough schedule ahead of us and we’ve gotta rise to the occasion and especially now, doubly rise to the occasion because being down with Blaze, I mean, that’s really frustrating. So we’ve got to pick him up, and we have to play our best baseball and then some in the second half.

“For the ups and downs and the inconsistencies, for us to be only two games out of it, that’s really encouraging. And just to be honest, it’s really fortunate for us and we’re really thankful to be in this position, and we need to capitalize in the second half.”