Levi Wells got the start for the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium this afternoon in the final tuneup in Florida. Call it a stopgap start in a sense, assisting the Birds in lining up their rotation for the regular season. Wells’ line: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K.
With Philadelphia leading 1-0, Pete Alonso tied the game at one on a balk in the last of the first. In the last of the third Tyler O’Neill gave the O’s a 2-1 lead with an RBI-single. However Philadelphia would later tie the game and take a 4-2 lead in the fourth on Kemp’s two-RBI single.
But this was the Orioles’ final game at Ed Smith this year. And they wanted to send themselves off in style. In the bottom of that fourth inning Gunnar Henderson’s RBI-double cut the lead to 4-3. Weston Wilson’s sixth inning RBI-double tied the game at four. But the O’s weren’t finished.
They would later load the bases in that sixth inning. Jhokensy Noel came to the plate, and gave the Sarasota faithful one last memory in 2026 with a grand slam. That put the Birds in the driver’s seat at 8-4, this after a long slog of a beginning of the game. Philadelphia would inch closer as the game went on, but Victor Figueroa’s two-RBI single put the O’s over the top on their 10-7 win.
Before the game the Orioles surprised everyone by announcing that Dean Kremer was being optioned to Norfolk to start the season. Obviously someone had to be the odd man out, and it was him. I suspect Zach Eflin’s stellar outing in Tampa last night played a role. Odds are however, we’ll see our share of Dean Kremer in the big leagues this year.
The Orioles now truly head for home, flying to Baltimore to take on the Washington Nationals tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Mitchell Parker. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 