Jeremiah Jackson circled the bases on his grand slam, came down the dugout steps and hugged his manager. Threw his arms around him. A sense of joy, celebration and tremendous relief.

Jackson’s line drive an inning earlier struck Craig Albernaz on the right side of his face, a frightening scene that could have shook the Orioles infielder and flattened the team.

The Orioles rallied from six runs down to defeat the Diamondbacks 9-7 and move two games above .500 for the first time since 2024. Jackson homered twice, including a solo shot in the eighth. Albernaz came back into dugout for the slam and an embrace before retreating again.

“He’s doing good,” said bench coach Donnie Ecker, who handled the postgame media duties. “Just as a precaution right now, he is going to get scanned and we’ll have more information tomorrow.

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

Albernaz’s toughness can’t be questioned. He didn’t fall after being hit, didn’t even stumble. He just turned in an attempt to avoid the ball.

The mark on his face is proof that 70.6 mph hurts, but he rejoined his team, even for a brief spell.

“If it were up to him, he would finish the game and he would be sitting right here. So, not surprised to see him,” Ecker said.

Did Ecker try to talk him out of it?

“No.”

Taylor Ward was standing near Albernaz when the incident occurred.

“Yeah, definitely scary,” he said. “Obviously, I turned my head and I didn’t see him get hit, but just the visual of the ball coming in that direction was pretty frightening, and hopefully Alby’s all right. It was cool that he went back into the dugout for a short period of time after it happened. After he got checked out. Hoping everything goes well with him and yeah, just a very scary moment.”

Jackson reached on an infield single after in the fifth after collecting himself.

“Not surprised that J.J. was a little shook by that,” Ward said.

“It’s crazy in this game how quick you’ve got to flip the page. I’m not sure what was going through his head, but definitely really professional for him to turn the page like that and do his thing at the plate and come through for us.”

“Always scary when someone gets squared up like that,” said first baseman Pete Alonso, who gave the Orioles an 8-7 lead with a two-run homer in the seventh. “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.”

“It’s jarring, for sure,” said Dean Kremer, who made his first start. “It’s really tough. We’re hoping for the best results, and I’m sure we’ll see him tomorrow and see how he’s feeling.”

Jackson stared into the dugout after hitting Albernaz, trying to ascertain the severity of the situation. Wondering if it really did happen.

“I hit it, and I kind of saw Alby holding his face,” said Jackson, who finished with his first career slam and multi-homer game on a night that could have turned tragic. “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.

“It was kind of a blur for 30, 45 minutes out there. But yeah, like I said, once I saw him and was able to get a feel for how he was doing, I was able to feel a little bit better.”

Jackson sought out Albernaz before his next trip to the plate, and he appreciated that his manager came back.

“He was fired up,” Jackson said. “He knew I felt bad. He knew I was kind of in my head. But to see him pop out there and enjoy the moment with us just goes to show the sort of person that he is and the competitor that he is. And I think that kind of trickles down into the team.”

“He was just stoked for J.J. and stoked that we were able to come back the way that we did,” Alonso said. “He didn’t really say much, and again, I don’t blame him for it.”

The slam reduced Arizona’s lead to 7-6, and Jackson provided some insurance with his homer in the eighth.

“It was a whirlwind, a roller coaster of emotions for sure, but once I knew he was doing better, it helped me a lot mentally,” he said. “End of the day, I’m glad we pulled out the W, and I’m glad he’s OK, first and foremost.

Everyone could joke about the situation later, knowing that Albernaz appeared to be fine – as much as possible after being drilled in the face.

Asked about Jackson’s first homer, Ecker said, “It’s certainly a better direction that he hit that one compared to the foul ball. Those were his words.

“Really happy for him. He’s not defined by just his bat. I think (he made) great plays out there and he’s just continuing to grow.”

Alonso faced the dugout, yelled and bounced toward first base after homering off reliever Jonathan Loáeisiga – only his second of the season. He had a leadoff double in the sixth to set up the slam.

“Just a genuine, excited reaction,” he said. “To be able to come back from down that many runs, there’s no quit in this group. And for us to rally around each other, rally around skip and really come through right there, that’ s big time. That’s big time. It shows a lot of character in this group. And yeah, having that toughness, having that grit, the bounce-back ability, it’s fantastic.

Kremer allowed four runs, only two earned, and struck out nine in five innings. He also tied his career high with three home runs, two to leadoff hitter Ketel Marte. The first landed on Eutaw Street.

“It was nice to get into a normal routine,” he said. “Tip your hat on the first one, and same with (Nolan) Arenado. Got a good piece of that one. If you’re gonna give them up, I guess, don’t give up the cheap ones. Other than that, aside from those, felt pretty good.”

Kremer was a surprise option at the conclusion of spring training but returned after the schedule lined up with 13 straight games.

“This game is a business and it will always be a business, and the moment you forget that, things come back to bite you in the ass,” he said. “But keep my head down and do what I need to, and do whatever I can to come back up here.”

Ward was hit by a pitch on the left hand in the eighth inning and had it wrapped afterward.

“Its fine,” he said. “They tested me out and no sharp pains or anything, so I should be in there tomorrow.”