Dean Kremer gritted out his first start of the season for the Baltimore Orioles tonight at Camden Yards against Kansas City. He did have some issues locating his pitches, and he fell behind. But he kept the O’s in the game, and managed to out the team in a spot to win. Kremer’s line: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
The Kremer runs surrendered came against big names. Witt smacked a solo homer in the top of the third. Later in the inning Perez smacked a two-run homer, and the O’s trailed 3-0.
But the Orioles battled back. Anthony Santander’s RBI-single in the fourth cut the lead to 3-1. And before you knew it, the game was tied later in the inning. Ryan Mountcastle’s two-run homer gave the Orioles three, tying the game.
The Birds put themselves in a spot to win late. Gunnar Henderson was at third base with two down in the eighth, and Ryan Mountcastle sent a sharp grounder into the hole at short. The ball was bobbled on the throw back to first base, and Mountcastle was safe. As was Henderson at home plate.
The Orioles brought Craig Kimbrel out of the bullpen for the first time to close out the game. Blanco got on base with a softly hit bloop single. He advanced to second and later third (by way of a steal), and with one out he scored on Garcia’s sacrifice fly-RBI. It goes as a blown save by Kimbrel, but not on anything hard hit.
Ultimately however, Kimbrel gets a win. Not a save, but a win. Cedric Mullins got on base with a single in the last of the ninth, and he later scored on Jordan Westburg’s walk off two-run homer.
End of the day, this might be a game we look back on. The Orioles are clearly a better team than Kansas City. Yet Kansas City took them to the brink. So perhaps you look at this game as a tool in overcoming adversity. They got punched in the mouth a bit in a sense. But they landed the final punch. And in the grand scheme of things, that‘s what matters the most.
The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Cole Irvin gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Alex Marsh. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 