Orioles' Blaze Alexander suffers hand fracture after hit by pitch that sparked benches-clearing incident in win vs. Royals

Tensions boiled over at Camden Yards on Sunday afternoon. As a result, Baltimore Orioles third baseman Blaze Alexander is entering the All-Star break with a broken hand. 

Alexander was struck in the left hand by a pitch late in the Orioles' 8-2 win over the Kansas City Royals, which sparked a brief but tense benches-clearing incident. The team confirmed after the game that Alexander suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left hand. 

Specifics on how long he'll be sidelined are not yet known.

"It hurts, but also he has a good attitude about it," manager Craig Albernaz said after the game.

Alexander was hit in the left hand by Royals reliever Lucas Erceg in the seventh inning, and he wasn't happy about it. As he started walking toward first, words were exchanged between the two. That quickly led to both teams rushing out onto the field and Alexander being held back. 

Nothing really came of the moment, and the game quickly resumed once the two teams were separated and went back to their respective dugouts.

"I don't know what Blaze said," Erceg said, via MLB's Jake Rill. “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."

Alexander holds a career-high .312 batting average with four home runs and 29 RBI this season. The 27-year-old was traded to Baltimore this past offseason in a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Despite losing Alexander, the Orioles had no issue cruising to the six-run win. The victory, their fourth straight, sends them into the All-Star break with a 46-51 record. That has them tied for last in the AL East standings, more than 10 games back from the Tampa Bay Rays.