Not an awful outing by Dean Kremer for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon in Texas. Not great either. End of the day, he pitched well enough to win. The bats couldn’t keep up today. Kremer’s line: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K.
End of the day, neither side had very many opportunities. This was a pitcher’s duel from the beginning. Which is a stark difference from the first two games. But that’s how the ball rolls sometimes.
Kremer ran into trouble in the fourth when he walked two hitters, the second of which came with two outs. And as we know, teams have been able to harm the Orioles this season with two outs.
And today was no exception. That walk brought Heim to the plate, and he smacked a three-run home run. That broke a scoreless tie, and it also gave Texas its first lead of the series.
In fairness to Oriole pitching, the Birds went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position today. Shades of pre-All Star break. If even one of those runs scored, it’s a different game.
However the Orioles rallied. Anthony Santander’s two-run homer in the eighth inning cut the lead to 3-2. However the Birds couldn’t rally further, and they dropped the series finale.
However this was a largely successful opening series for the second half. Not just on the field for the Birds. The Orioles took two-of-three in the series with Texas, and New York dropped two-of-three against Tampa. The Orioles started the weekend a game up on New York, and they finish it up two.
The O’s will enjoy an off day tomorrow in Miami before opening a series there on Tuesday.
Birdland Crush 