Dean Kremer didn’t look terrible this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles. However similar to Tyler Wells last night, he was getting too much of the strike zone. And that can be just as much an issue as missing. Kremer’s line: 4.0 IP, 10 H, 8 R (6 earned), 1 BB, 3 K.
The Orioles jumped out early in this game against Milwaukee’s DL Hall, himself a former Oriole. Ryan Mtuntcaskte’s solo homer in the first inning gave them a 1-0 lead. Jordan Westburg followed later in the inning with a two-run shot. Milwaukee would get one back in the second on a solo homer by Hoskins, but things were looking up.
Gunnar Henderson’s RBI-single in the last of the second would extend the lead to 4-1. However Milwaukee loaded the bases with two outs in the third on an error and two softly-hit singles. Bauers would ground out to add a run, and Hoskins would tack on another soft RBI-single. A fourth run would score on an Austin Hays error, and same were tied.
The frustration there is that this all came with two outs. You have to put teams away. However the Birds would get the lead back in the bottom of the inning. Adley Rutschman would smack a solo home run, putting the O’s back on top at 5-4.
They would proceed to load the bases, but Milwaukee was allowed to shimmy its way out of the inning. And that’s almost the same issue as above. Whereas the O’s allowed Milwaukee to get back into the game with two outs in the inning, this was loading the bases (with nobody out) and not scoring after that. You have to put people away. The Orioles couldn’t do it in both cases, and paid the price,
An RBI-single by Contreras in the fourth would tie the game. Later in the inning however Bauers would haunt the O’s and smack a three-run homer. For the record, that home run may well have been wind-aided. However again, had the Orioles taken care of their business when they had the opportunity to do so, that wouldn’t have mattered.
And it got worse in the eighth. Frelick’s RBI-single and Adanes’ two-RBI double extended the lead to 11-5. Those last two runs? With two outs.
In fairness, Milwaukee’s offense has been scorching of late. This coming into the series. But if you can’t put people away, games will go south.
One bright spot I suppose, Oriole bats woke up a bit (at least early on) from last night. Five runs on the board is respectable; it’s the 11 runs allowed that’s the problem. Adley Rutschman went 2-for-5 with a homer out of the DH role.
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. Corbin Burnes gets the start for the Burds, and he’ll be opposed by Milwaukee’s Colin Rea. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM
Birdland Crush 