Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz was involved in a terrifying moment during the team’s victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.

Albernaz was struck by a line drive off the bat of Orioles second baseman Jeremiah Jackson in the fifth inning. The ball hit the manager’s left cheek and he left to be looked at by the team’s medical staff.

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Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz talks to media in the dugout before a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago on April 8, 2026. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

Albernaz briefly returned to the game after Jackson hit a grand slam to help the Orioles to the 9-7 win.

“He’s doing good. Just as a precaution, he’s going to get it scanned,” Orioles bench coach Donnie Ecker said.

Jackson said he had a sunken feeling when he saw Albernaz in pain after the errant liner.

“I hit and then I kind of saw Alby holding his face. My heart kind of dropped,” Jackson said. “I was able to see him afterward and see he was doing OK.”

AVALANCHE COACH TAKES PUCK TO THE FACE, WILL MISS FINAL REGULAR-SEASON GAMES

Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz stands on the field before the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Md., on Apr. 10, 2026. (Mitch Stringer/Imagn Images)

“Knowing he was OK helped. It made me feel a little bit better,” Jackson added. “I’m just happy he’s doing OK and in good spirits.”

Albernaz and Jackson embraced after the infielder hit the big home run in the sixth inning.

“That was awesome,” Jackson said of the impromptu embrace from his manager. “You never want to hurt anybody, and Alby’s awesome. It sucked. But he wore it well and he’s in good spirits so it made me feel better.”

Albernaz is in his first year as Baltimore’s manager. He served as a bench coach and assistant manager for the Cleveland Guardians in 2024 and 2025.

Baltimore Orioles’ Jeremiah Jackson rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Baltimore on April 13, 2026. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)

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Baltimore improved to 9-7 with the win and are tied with the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Most people don’t want to be reminded of one of their worst moments in life.

But for Alex Vesia, that moment is also close to his heart.

Vesia and his wife, Kayla, tragically lost their newborn daughter last October, which caused him to miss the Dodgers World Series run last season.

So when Opening Day came this year, the Vesia family knew emotions would be heightened after picturing life differently.

Kayla  attended Los Angeles’ season opener against the Diamondbacks, and in an Instagram post, she called her evening at the ballpark “very bitter sweet.”

“What I would give to have my Sterling girl here,” Kayla wrote, “carrying her in my heart always.”

Alex and Kayla announced on Nov. 7 that Sterling Vesia, their newborn, died on Oct. 26. They wrote at the time there were “no words to describe the pain we’re going through.”

Now every time Alex takes the mound, he’ll be reminded of Kayla and Sterling.

Alex made his season debut Saturday night in Los Angeles’ 5-4 victory over the Diamondbacks, throwing one inning of scoreless ball while surrendering one hit.

While his stat line was impressive, it was what he was wearing that caught everyone’s attention.

Alex was seen sporting a custom glove with Sterling Sol stitched onto it.

Alex first spoke about his and Kayla’s loss during spring training when he read a prepared statement to the media.

“The lessons we’ve learned from this is that life can change in an instant,” Alex said. “Ten minutes is all it took. Sterling Sol was the most beautiful girl in the world. We got to hold her, change her diaper, read to her and love her. Our time together was far too short. Kay and I will keep those precious moments and memories to ourselves. I hope that anyone listening can empathize and respect our wishes for privacy as we continue to heal, and as we navigate the ups and downs of a baseball season.”

The Dodgers return to action Sunday when they wrap up their three-game series with the Diamondbacks. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m.

It just made cents.

Major League Baseball star Merrill Kelly will pocket nearly $2.5 million more per year over the next two seasons of his $40 million deal by signing in Arizona instead of California.

The massive difference in cash reflects the spread in state income taxes as well as California’s disability insurance levy and typical property tax differences on a luxury home.

However, the overwhelming driver of the disparity is state income tax.

California’s top marginal rate reaches 13.3% — a 12.3% bracket plus an additional 1% Mental Health Services Tax on income above $1 million. On a $20 million salary, that translates to roughly $2.63 million owed to the state.

Arizona, by contrast, imposes a flat 2.5% income tax regardless of earnings. On the same $20 million contract, the bill comes to about $500,000.

That difference alone — approximately $2.13 million per year — accounts for nearly all of the gap.

California also withholds 1.3% for State Disability Insurance, with no wage cap. On a $20 million salary, that’s another roughly $260,000 — a levy Arizona does not impose.

Property taxes and sales taxes pale in comparison.

On a $10 million home, California’s effective property tax rate of roughly 0.70% would translate to about $70,000 annually, versus roughly $44,000 in Arizona at an effective rate near 0.44% — a difference of around $26,000 per year.

Even if the home price climbs higher, the property tax gap amounts to tens of thousands

Sales taxes vary by city and spending habits, but they are unlikely to materially alter the overall gap.

For example, if a player spent $1 million annually on taxable goods, a roughly 1 to 1.5 percentage-point difference between jurisdictions would amount to about $10,000 to $15,000 per year.

Even with lavish consumption, the sales tax impact would likely total tens of thousands.

The eye-popping gap came into focus after veteran right-hander Kelly cited California’s tax burden as a key reason he spurned the San Diego Padres and returned home to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“I don’t think it’s any secret on how much money you get taken out of your pocket when you go to California,” the 37-year-old said.

“It’s just, like I said, they take too much money out of my pocket, man. The taxes over there are a different level.”

After mulling over a potential tax bill, the decision became clear.

“We had my numbers guy run the numbers, and it just made more sense to come home,” Kelly said.

Kelly isn’t the only professional athlete that has been impacted by the taxman in the Golden State.

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold will owe California roughly $249,000 in “jock taxes” after winning Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara — about $71,000 more than the $178,000 he earned for the game.

The bill stems from California’s rule that forces out-of-state athletes to pay state income tax based on the number of “duty days” they work in the state, with Darnold and the Seahawks accumulating eight days during their Super Bowl trip.

The $249,000 California bill was calculated by taking Darnold’s $35 million annual salary, dividing it by his total duty days for the year (roughly 200), then multiplying by the 8 duty days in California, and applying California’s13.3% rate.

If you swap in Arizona’s 2.5% rate with the same formula, Darnold’s bill would have been roughly $47,000 instead of $249,000 — about 80% less. He still would have come out ahead of his $178,000 Super Bowl bonus rather than losing money on it.

So the difference between playing the Super Bowl in California vs. Arizona would have been roughly $200,000 in Darnold’s pocket.