Dean Kremer got the start for the Baltimore Orioles in Houston last night in the first game out of the break. He only lasted four innings, but his first inning perhaps foreshadowed the end of the game. Kremer’s line: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K.
After a leadoff walk Alvarez’s RBI-double gave Houston a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning Houston had runners at the corners with only one out. Kremer appeared on the ropes early. However he induced Altuve to ground into a double-play, ending the inning.
Kremer gave up a run. But he limited the damage. And that was huge in the moment, as well as in the grand scheme of the game.
The Orioles would tie the game in the third when Pete Alonso drew a bases loaded walk. Houston challenged the call of a strike, but it was upheld on replay. However Houston got their lead back in their half of the frame on a sac fly-RBI by Paredes.
The game wore on, and neither team could push anything across. Which in theory benefited Houston. However the O’s turned to reliever Cam Sanders in the eighth – with the bases loaded and one out. The Birds traded for Sanders over the break after he was DFA’d by Pittsburgh.
He was thrilled to join the Orioles, who obviously threw him into the fire right away. he immediately struck out Paredes, and induced Walker to pop out to end the inning. He had delivered the Orioles from the brink of Houston potentially breaking the game wide open.
Adley Rutschman hit a leadoff double in the eighth, bringing Taylor Ward to the plate. But Ward wasn’t going to walk this time. Instead he smacked a two-run home run, propelling the Orioles into the lead.
From the brink of disaster into the lead. It happened that quickly. Tyler Wells closed Houston out in the ninth, striking out Walker with two on to end the game , giving the Orioles now a five-game winning streak.
For once this year, it was the O’s holding their opponent accountable. Sanders stopped a golden opportunity for Houston to take a bigger lead. When they failed at that, the O’s pounced. And they won as a result.
The series continues this afternoon at Daikin Park. Trevor Rogers gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.
Birdland Crush 