masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgHOUSTON – The Orioles are reporting good news on outfielder Nelson Cruz.

X-rays taken on Cruz’s left hand came back negative. It’s just a contusion and he’s listed as day-to-day. Nothing more serious.

Astros starter Scott Feldman, a former Oriole, drilled Cruz on the left hand in the top of the third inning. Cruz, starting today in right field, stayed in the game until the bottom half of the inning.

The Orioles are off Monday, and Cruz could be back in the lineup Tuesday night for the…HOUSTON – The Orioles are reporting good news on outfielder Nelson Cruz.

X-rays taken on Cruz’s left hand came back negative. It’s just a contusion and he’s listed as day-to-day. Nothing more serious.

Astros starter Scott Feldman, a former Oriole, drilled Cruz on the left hand in the top of the third inning. Cruz, starting today in right field, stayed in the game until the bottom half of the inning.

The Orioles are off Monday, and Cruz could be back in the lineup Tuesday night for the opener of a three-game series against the Rangers in Arlington.

Manager Buck Showalter will provide more information following today’s game, which the Orioles lead 9-2 in the eighth inning.

Cruz grounded into a double play in the first inning before Feldman hit him in the third. He’s batting .314 and leads the majors with 20 home runs and 52 RBIs.

Cruz drove in five of the Orioles’ last nine runs before today.

Cruz had built a 12-game hitting streak since May 20, going 20-for-42 (.476) with six doubles, eight homers, 15 RBIs, 14 runs scored and nine walks.

Update: The news was good on the field, too. The Orioles gained a split of their four-game series with a 9-4 win over the Astros before 17,022 at Minute Maid Park.

The Orioles are 28-27 as they approach Monday’s off-day. They begin a three-game series in Arlington on Tuesday.

Brad Brach allowed a run in the seventh and Matt Dominguez hit a two-run homer off Preston Guilmet in the eighth after the Orioles built a 9-1 lead.

Brian Matusz recorded the last three outs. He hit Marwin Gonzalez with two outs, but certainly not on purpose.

Down on the farm, Single-A Delmarva’s Mike Yastrzemski finished 3-for-6 with a double and two bases-loaded triples. The six RBIs for Yastrzemski are the most by a Shorebird in a single game this season.

Yastrzemski, grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, now leads Delmarva with 34 RBIs.