DETROIT — Heston Kjerstad is no stranger to unfair circumstances.

Years before he was concussed from taking a 97 mph fastball to the head, Kjerstad’s baseball career was put in jeopardy.

The Orioles selected the slugger second overall in the 2020 draft, but he didn’t make his professional debut until two years later. Kjerstad missed the entire 2021 campaign as he recovered from the heart condition myocarditis, and his return in 2022 was delayed because of a severe hamstring strain.

Those experiences obviously couldn’t expedite his recovery from the concussion he suffered in July, but they shaped the mindset that helped him get through being away from the game once again.

“It wasn’t enjoyable, that’s for sure,” Kjerstad said in the Orioles’ clubhouse Sunday morning after he was reinstated from the injured list. “For one, always want to be healthy. Two, hate missing playing games. That’s all I really want to do is play baseball, so any time I’m sidelined, it’s not enjoyable. But it’s part of the career path and something you’ve got to stay positive and work through and work for the day that you’re finally going to be back.

“Luckily, everything’s back to normal and we’re good to roll.”

Kjerstad’s hit by pitch in mid-July was one of many times Orioles batters have been plunked this season. James McCann was later hit in the nose, and Jordan Westburg has been on the IL since a hit by pitch fractured his hand July 31. It appeared the Orioles and Kjerstad were fortunate his injury wasn’t worse, as manager Brandon Hyde penciled the outfielder in his lineup the next day. But Kjerstad didn’t feel well as he warmed up pregame, and he missed a week on the concussion IL.

In the 14 games before his concussion, Kjerstad was perhaps the Orioles’ best hitter with a .378 batting average and a whopping 1.141 OPS as the former top prospect finally hit his stride during his third big-league stint. But after returning from the IL, Kjerstad went 2-for-18 with seven strikeouts and was surprisingly optioned after the trade deadline.

That downturn, though, was a result of lingering concussion symptoms that Kjerstad later reported to the team after he was demoted. The 25-year-old said he “brushed off” the symptoms he was feeling — headaches, sensitivity to screens and some balance issues — and instead attributed his poor results to inconsistent playing time or just a normal slump.

“It wasn’t an ankle injury or something like that to where I tried to play through it when I was probably not 100%,” he said. “So that was part of it to begin with.”

He spent about a month in MLB’s concussion protocol. He saw a specialist and was reassured that his brain injury wasn’t deemed severe and that he would likely be able to return this season. He spent time in physical therapy, focusing on balancing drills and eye tracking.

“Luckily, they have a good protocol for it,” Kjerstad said. “I went to some good people, and they got me back right.”

That doesn’t mean he never worried during his time away. Hitting 100 mph fastballs or tracking high fly balls are difficult tasks for anyone, let alone someone recovering from a concussion. But once he started his minor league rehabilitation assignment earlier this week, he felt like himself again.

“It felt completely normal like it did earlier in the season,” he said. “That’s when I was like, ‘OK, I’m good to roll.’”

Kjerstad, a left-handed hitter, will likely start at designated hitter or right field against right-handed starting pitchers. He hit cleanup in Sunday’s 4-2 loss and will likely be a mainstay in the Orioles’ lineup against righties until at least Ryan Mountcastle returns from the IL.

“We’re really excited to have him back,” co-hitting coach Ryan Fuller said. “He said he was feeling normal, which we’re really excited about. Having him be a force in the middle of that lineup is something we’ve always envisioned for him.”

Kjerstad could provide a boost to an offense that’s spent most of September slumping. The Orioles have scored only 21 runs in their past 10 games, a stretch in which they’ve gone 3-7 to fall out of first place in the American League East and closer to the second wild-card spot than a division title.

He rejoined the club Sunday alongside reliever Jacob Webb, who could fortify a bullpen that’s been inconsistent in the second half. Their returns are likely just the beginning of the reinforcements the Orioles will receive over the final two weeks of the regular season.

Five other players are rehabbing their injuries and eyeing a late September return: starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, reliever Danny Coulombe, and infielders Jordan Westburg, Ramón Urías and Mountcastle. Most of the recent updates about them have been positive, although their timelines remain uncertain. Their healthy and productive returns could be the difference between Baltimore making a deep postseason run and being bounced early again.

“All of us want to provide that boost. Maybe I can bring that,” Kjerstad said. “All it takes is one, and once one goes, the rest of the offense will roll with ‘em. We’ll get it rolling here.”

What’s next?

Attempting to reduce a magic number moving at a glacial pace.

The Orioles entered last week with a magic number to clinch a playoff berth of 10. It only dropped to six after the club struggled against Boston and Detroit.

After Monday’s day off, Baltimore (84-66) will look to clinch a playoff spot in front of its home crowd at Camden Yards for the second consecutive season. The Orioles host three games against the San Francisco Giants beginning Tuesday and another weekend series versus the Tigers. But with Baltimore’s struggles in recent weeks, it’s possible the magic number doesn’t reach zero until next week on the road.

Should the Orioles clinch a playoff spot, it will mark the first time since 1996-97 they’ve done so in consecutive seasons.

What was good?

It’s hard to glean too many positives from a week in which the Orioles went 2-4 and scored more than four runs only once. But the way their rotation is shaping up ahead of the postseason is encouraging.

After a dreadful August, Corbin Burnes rediscovered his ace form in September. His start Saturday — seven scoreless innings to help the Orioles bounce back from Friday’s near-no-hit loss — was his best of the season.

Zach Eflin has been everything the Orioles could’ve imagined since acquiring him at the trade deadline. He has a 2.22 ERA across his first seven starts with Baltimore, allowing three or fewer runs in each of them. The veteran righty allowed only one run in 6 2/3 frames Friday.

Dean Kremer struggled in the first half and missed time because of an injury. But for the second straight season, Kremer has stepped up in the second half. Including Thursday’s seven-inning, one-run performance, the 28-year-old right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.62 ERA across his past six starts.

Oh, and Rodriguez is throwing bullpen sessions and could rejoin the rotation ahead of a potential postseason series. The offense’s slump is concerning, but this rotation is pitching like one capable of making a postseason run.

What wasn’t?

There are individual performances that could be highlighted in this section.

Ryan O’Hearn went 2-for-21 last week and is hitting .159 with a .463 OPS since Mountcastle suffered his wrist injury. Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo went a combined 2-for-22, and neither started the final two games of the Tigers series as Emmanuel Rivera and Livan Soto did instead. Eloy Jiménez’s slump continued with an 0-for-9 week.

But not any one player is to blame for the lack of production from the offense. What was once baseball’s best offense is now lackluster — never more so than Friday when the Orioles failed to reach base until the eighth and didn’t break up the Tigers’ combined no-hit bid until Gunnar Henderson’s two-out triple in the ninth.

Whether it’s the natural ebbs and flows of a 162-game season, the injuries, an ineffective approach or all of the above, something isn’t right with Baltimore’s bats. And they don’t have much time left to figure it out.

On the farm

The Double-A season ended Sunday, but one of the Bowie Baysox’s most notable players will get one more week to play.

Outfield prospect Dylan Beavers, who Baseball America ranks as the Orioles’ No. 7 prospect, will be promoted to Triple-A Norfolk for the final week of the Tides’ season, a source with direct knowledge of the move confirmed to The Baltimore Sun. MASNSports.com was first to report the promotion.

Beavers, the No. 33 overall draft pick in 2022, has put up solid numbers during an up-and-down campaign in Bowie. The 23-year-old slashed .241/.343/.413 — good for a .756 OPS — in 119 games this season with 15 homers and 31 stolen bases.