Dean Kremer was unable to muster any sort of momentum for the Baltimore Orioles tonight in Detroit. Nor was anyone else who pitched in the game. Neither in the game or in the wake of last night’s win. Which ended up being a big deal, given tonight’s result. Kremer’s line: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 3 BB, 4 K.
In short, Detroit hitters were swinging away at will against Kremer and everyone else the Orioles threw up there. The Orioles almost assumed their outs were fait accompli. An opponent hellbent on winning and a passive approach at the plate on your part rarely ends well.
Keith’s two-RBI triple in the first was really all Detroit needed. Their pitching shut down Oriole hitting. However Kremer also couldn’t find the strike zone. He lived on the fringes, as did every other Oriole pitcher. One inning later Valencia’s solo homer, combined with Torres’ two-RBI double extended the lead to 5-0.
Kremer should have been pulled there. But he went back out. Before the fourth inning was over, Detroit led 8-0. The big play in that? A two-run homer by Torres. On a cutter that stayed up.
At times it almost looked like Detroit knew what was coming. And I don’t say that in an effort to say a team was stealing signs. I say that in the context that I think the Orioles have tipped pitches (accidentally, of course) for some time, and that they need to figure out what they’re doing to in effect tell other teams what they’re doing.
None of that explains the Orioles’ passive approach at the plate tonight. They tallied three hits in the game. You can’t win games with that sort of output. In short, guys are guessing where pitches are going to be. And they’re guessing wrong.
Detroit really wasn’t in the mood to stop, when the smoke cleared it was a 14-0 final. To be clear, the final two runs came on a two-run home run by Valencia in the eighth inning. Off of Chadwick Tromp.
Which is equally baffling. I’m not sure whose idea it was to have a catcher be the position player to pitch in a blowout, but it’s a curious choice. Needless to say. Granted, it could also mean that a roster move is forthcoming, involving Tromp.
This is a game you have to just forget about. YES, they have to figure out if someone’s tipping pitches, and then how to stop it. However that’s been true for two years. But you have to forget about it and move onto tomorrow.
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at Comerica Park. Trevor Rogers gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Tarik Skubal. Game time is set for just after 1 PM,
Birdland Crush 