The Baltimore Orioles sent Dean Kremer to the mound this evening to open up a three-game set with St. Louis at Camden Yards. You know that we’re getting to crunch time in the season, because Brandon Hyde lifted a struggling Kremer in favor of the bullpen. He just didn’t have it tonight, and it was took important a game to let it go on. Kremer’s line: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 2 K.
Kremer allowed a run in the first on an RBI-single by Contreras. However in the bottom of the inning Aaron Hicks’ RBI-single would tie the game. That was followed by an RBI-single by Ramon Urias, putting the Orioles ahead, 2-1. However St. Louis would put three across in the third, taking a 4-2 lead.
Adam Frazier got them slightly closer in the fourth with an RBI-single. However the teams in essence swapped RBI-singles in the fourth and fifth, with St. Louis’ coming off the bat of Burelson. However Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI-single in the last of the fifth brought the Birds to within 5-4.
But they weren’t done in that fifth inning. This is a team that’s had the flair for the dramatic all season. And now, on the brink of a playoff birth, we should expect nothing different. As that fifth inning went on, the O’s loaded the bases. And Cedric Mullins was striding to the plate…
…and you know what happened next. The 2023 Orioles…did 2023 Oriole things. Mullins’ sent a grand slam deep into the Baltimore late summer night, giving the Orioles an 8-5 lead, and reminding all in attendance and watching, that the Orioles are never out of a game. I’ll say it again; the Orioles are never out of a game.
One inning later, Gunnar Henderson’s solo homer extended the lead to 9-5. Austin Hays would add a two-RBI single in the last of the eighth, and the O’s closed out an 11-5 victory over St. Louis. It’s also their 86th consecutive series without being swept. And it lowered the magic number to win the division to at least 16, and the magic number to clinch a playoff spot to at least four. (This pending what other teams do tonight.)
To add to the good news, the Orioles will get starter John Means back tomorrow night. This following Tommy John’s surgery last summer. I suppose it’s fair to question whether or not it’s smart to reintroduce Means (who’s now an unknown commodity) to the rotation in the midst of the pennant race. But no time like the present, right?!
The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. The aforementioned John Means makes the start for the O’s (his first of the season), and he’ll be opposed by St. Louis’ Adam Wainright. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 