The Baltimore Orioles got a quality start out of Dean Kremer this evening at Camden Yards. Unfortunately that stat is probably lost to most, as Kremer didn’t qualify for the win. He was non-decisioned, but only missed out on the win by virtue of when the O’s took the lead. Kremer’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
Kremer’s line lackadaisical pitch was in the top of the third on a solo homer by Sosa. And you’re going to make bad pitches here and there. You just hope that one doesn’t cost you a game. Luckily it didn’t.
Adam Frazier tied the game at one with an RBI-single in the last of the fifth. Kremer exited after pitching no part of the seventh, his quality start in tact. This despite the tie. But the best was yet to come.
It was 1-1 going into the last of the seventh. The Orioles worked the count and loaded the bases with Anthony Santander coming to the plate. With a two strike count, Santander sent a bases-clearing double to right field, giving the Birds a 4-1 lead. But that wasn’t the end…
…and not by a long shot at that. The O’s would extend their lead to 5-1 on Cedric Mullins’ fielder’s choice-RBI. That in and of itself gave the O’s a little bit of cushion. This in that it was no longer a save situation.
The O’s would bust it wide open later in the inning on Ryan McKenna’s two-RBI double. McKenna would almost immediately notice that the ChiSox pitcher wasn’t really paying attention, and he stole third base. He would later score on Adley Rutschman’s RBI-single.
You have to hand it to McKenna. He was maligned for much of the season following game two when he dropped a fly ball in Boston. But he’s thrived as we’ve gone forward, despite being sent to triple-A once.
Santander would come back up later in the eighth, providing a two-RBI single. Chicago would push across two nominal runs in the ninth, and the O’s went home with a 9-3 win. In taking the series, the Orioles have equaled their 2022 win total at 83. Tbey’re 34 games over .500, and they have the best record in the American League.
The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Kyle Gibson gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Dylan Cease. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.
Birdland Crush 