Dean Kremer came just short of a quality start for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon in the series finale in Boston. Simply put, he mowed ‘em down. And the bats backed him up in his effort on this Sunday fold Memorial Day weekend. Kremer’s line: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K.
This is the sort of game of which we were expecting more this year. After Friday, if you had told me the Birds would have split the series come the end of the weekend…well, I’m not sure what I would have thought. That first game was such a tough one, however fact is the O’s had a lead in all four games in this series. So there’s also that.
The O’s put two runners on in the fourth, and took a 1-0 lead on Ramon Urias’ sac fly-RBI. However Boston almost took the lead on top of the O’s in the home half of the frame. With a runner on second base, Hamilton sent a deep fly ball towards the Pesky Pole in right…a ball that was tracked down on a great hustle by Dylan Carlson. That’s as good of a play as you’re going to see in right field at Fenway Park.
And true to form, Dylan Carlson led off the fifth with a solo home run, extending the Orioles’ lead to 2-0. One inning later it was 3-0 on a second solo shot, this one by Ryan O’Hearn. Still nobody on base when these home runs were occurring, but the flashes of power are taking a tick towards promising.
And it was O’Hearn who put an exclamation mark on the day. Following a lead off walk by Gunnar Henderson in the eight, O’Hearn in essence smacked what used to be called a little league home run. Henderson scored when the relay throw his O’Hearn in the back going into second base. It ticked away, and O’Hearn went to third – where an errant throw allowed him to score, and the O’s led 5-0.
Boston would add a nominal run in the ninth, but the Orioles won it 5-1. The one downside was that Adley Rutschman had a ball fouled off his mask, and was eventually lifted. That’s a major concern, but time will tell how long he’s out – if at all.
The Orioles now head home to open a three-game set with St. Louis at Camden Yards. Charlie Morton gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by St. Louis’ Erick Fedde. Game time is set for just after 3 PM.
Birdland Crush 