The Baltimore Orioles needed a win tonight against Washington. Not because of the Battle of the Beltways, but to keep pace in the standings. They needed someone to step up, and Dean Kremer was that man. Kremer’s line: 6.0 IP, 5 H 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K.
Kremer sent Washington down 1-2-3 in the first inning. For the most part, that was a harbinger of things to come. With a runner on in the last of the first, Gunnar Henderson hit a ball that maybe hasn’t landed yet – this for a two-run homer, and the Birds led 2-0.
However Washington came right back, providing Kremer with his only hiccup. Call’s RBI-double in the second cut the lead to 2-1. It was a high liner that grazed off of Anthony Santander’s glove on right field as he collided with the wall. However that Henderson home run stood up for the Orioles for some time. But they needed more.
And eventually, they got it. First off, Coby Mayo recorded his first major league hit in the last of the fifth. That’s always a big moment when someone’s able to do that, and it had been some time coming for Mayo. Nice that he was able to do it in front of the home crowd at Camden Yards.
Both Dean Kremer and Washington starter Herz were outstanding tonight. It was the sort of game that someone had to lose. However it was Oriole bats who responded late, and the Oriole bullpen who was able to step it up a step.
Jackson Holliday’s one-out RBI-single extended the Orioles’ lead to 3-1. Later in the inning Adley Rutschman’s sac-fly RBI would extend it further to 4-1. And the Oriole bullpen took the bull by the horns from there and shut Washington down. With the win, the O’s split this series and the season series with Washington.
It’s easy to say that those last two runs weren’t even necessary. However would the bullpen have been as locked down with only a one-run lead? End of the day we’ll never know. But we do know how it turned out, and the score said the Orioles won.
The Orioles now welcome in Boston tomorrow, opening a four-game series at Camden Yards. Zach Eflin gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Nick Pivetta. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 