Baltimore Orioles player of the week: The hits Kjeep on coming

Another week has come and gone for the Baltimore Orioles, who continue to be one of the best teams in baseball. Throughout the season, every team has highs and lows, and the Birds experienced both in this week. After dropping the first two games against the Cleveland Guardians, running their losing streak to five games, the O's turned things around by taking three out of four against the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers.

The Orioles just completed yet another seven-game week that saw plenty of explosive performances. Gunnar Henderson continues to shine as he fights to take the lead in the MVP race. Colton Cowser put his power on display with several monster home runs, and Anthony Santander has mashed the ball all month long.

Craig Kimbrel drew significant consideration for Player of the Week with his strong performance. Kimbrel appeared in three games this week and earned the save in all three. Not only did Kimbrel keep the other team off the board this week, but he didn't even allow a hit in the process. Kimbrel struggled a bit with his control, but his three saves this week have him just one save away from tying Francisco Rodriguez for fourth place on the all-time saves list.

For all the success the Birds had, the player who stood out the most was Heston Kjerstad. After being recalled on Monday, Kjerstad was immediately inserted into the lineup and made an instant impact with two hits on the first two pitches he saw. Kjerstad was quiet for the rest of the series against the Guards, but awoke from a brief slumber against the Rangers.

Heston Kjerstad made a winning statement for Orioles vs. Rangers, Guardians

Kjerstad, who was included on last year's postseason roster, looked to have a score to settle with the Rangers. He started three of the four games, getting one start in right field and two at DH. In his first start of the series, Kjerstad reached base in three of his four plate appearances (2-for-3 with a walk). He had an RBI single in the first inning and his first home run of the season in the third.

Silent J was even better in his second game of the series when he reached base in all four of his plate appearances (1-for-1 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch). His one hit was a fifth inning grand slam, the first grand slam of his career, which gave the Birds a 5-2 lead in a game they went on to win 6-5.

The series against the Rangers did not end as well as we would have liked, but that didn't slow down Kjerstad, who finished the night 2-for-4 with an RBI double, his third multi-hit effort of the week. Overall for the week, Kjerstad went 7-for-16 with three runs, two doubles, two home runs and eight RBI to become the Orioles Player of the Week.

The Orioles' outfield continues to be overcrowded, with seemingly everyone except Santander fighting for playing time, not to mention Kyle Stowers doing everything he can in Norfolk to get back to Baltimore. With six guys able to serve as quality major leaguers on a team trying to win its second straight division crown, something has to give, and with the trade deadline fast approaching, we should see exactly what gives soon.