PITTSBURGH – The baseball besties started on the same day this afternoon, with about 770 miles separating them.

Kyle Bradish was in Pittsburgh for his second appearance. Dean Kremer was in Memphis to make his 2026 debut with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides.

They’re going to work again in the same rotation when the Orioles return to a five-man setup. Bradish will be happy to have his friend back. They might not spend much time talking about his second inning in the Pirates’ home opener.

Shortstop Konnor Griffin, baseball’s No. 1 prospect, had an RBI double in his first major league at-bat in a four-run inning that propelled Pittsburgh to a 5-4 victory over the Orioles before an announced sellout of 38,986 at PNC Park.

Gunnar Henderson hit a two-out solo homer off former teammate Gregory Soto in the ninth to account for the final margin – another one-run game between the teams.

The last six have been decided by one run to tie the longest streak for the Orioles against any opponent, per STATS. It also ties the major league interleague record.

Bradish threw 35 pitches in the second, including eight on a leadoff walk to former teammate Ryan O’Hearn. Spencer Hortwitz struck out, and Bradish fed Griffin four consecutive sliders to get ahead 1-2. He threw a curveball and Griffin lined it into left-center field at 105.8 mph.

The same crowd that grew silent before every pitch erupted in celebration. The 19-year-old Griffin raised his arms in the air.

“A lot of sliders,” Bradish said. “He chased them. He laid off one, so we pivoted to a curveball and I threw a (crappy) pitch and he hit it. He’s a good hitter. He’s up here for a reason, so congrats to him, but it was just a bad pitch.”

Griffin dived across the plate on Jared Triolo’s single for his first run, Henry Davis had an RBI double and Oneil Cruz singled on a 106.9 mph grounder through the left side for a 4-0 lead.

The Orioles’ No. 2 starter allowed four runs and six hits in four innings, with three walks and six strikeouts. His ERA is 6.23 ERA in 8 2/3.

“I think the fastball command is not where he would like it and we would like it,” said manager Craig Albernaz. “Off-speed, the curve ball and the slider were pretty good today, but just the fastball command. It looks like it’s just not as sharp as it usually is. That’s something that I feel confident he’ll get back to.”

Bradish struck out three batters in the first inning and his sinker topped at 97.3 mph. It registered 94.3 mph on Triolo’s single but 96.2 during Davis’ at-bat. A sinker to O’Hearn in the third was clocked at 93.6, when Bradish threw 13 pitches, struck out two and retired the side in order.

The first two batters reached in the fourth but Davis grounded into a 5-3 double play. Bradish was back in the dugout at 81 pitches, two fewer than his first start.

Bradish induced 14 whiffs, a positive component of today’s start. And his velocity ticked up early.

“A lot of whiffs on the curveball and the slider, but it’s all about getting there,” Albernaz said. “And I think fastball command, just kind of getting behind in some bad counts and now it’s tough to leverage those. But Bradish, he’s really good and he has some really good stuff. That’s why I think it’s just, once he kind of fine-tunes that a little bit, I think he’s gonna be a problem.”

“I think fastball command was a lot better today,” Bradish said. “They were a lot more competitive. Got away from it a little bit in that second inning, but stuff’s not the issue right now. It’s execution.”

Don’t try to sell Bradish on taking any positives from a game like this, which lowered the Orioles’ record to 3-4.

“Not really,” he said. “We lost. I got through four, which is not even close to where I need to be at, so, no, not really. Like I said, stuff’s not the problem. It’s execution.”

Kremer threw 62 pitches, 43 strikes, in 4 2/3 innings with Norfolk. He allowed three runs and three hits with two walks, six strikeouts and a hit batter. Bligh Madris hit a solo home run in the third on a 92.4 mph fastball.

Zach Eflin is getting a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister on his sore right elbow after undergoing an MRI earlier this week. He’s on the injured list and Kremer eventually should be his replacement.

The Orioles need to build up Kremer after an extended layoff.

Mitch Keller blanked the Orioles through four innings, but Henderson doubled into the right field corner in the fifth to bring home Blaze Alexander, and he scored on Adley Rutschman’s two-out double. A couple of former top-ranked prospects introduced themselves to Griffin.

Those were the only runs allowed by Keller in six innings. He owns a 1.42 ERA in three career starts against the Orioles. Yohan Ramírez, who made five appearances with the Orioles in 2024, surrendered an RBI double to Taylor Ward in the seventh after Alexander singled. Ward also walked twice.

Dietrich Enns walked three batters in the fifth and allowed a run on O’Hearn’s sacrifice fly. Enns struck out Griffin, who had extended the at-bat with a successful challenge.

Tyler Wells retired all six batters he faced for his first scoreless appearance in four tries. Alexander made a sensational diving backhand stop and throw from the grass in foul territory to rob Davis in the sixth.

Alexander went airborne on the dive.

“Yeah, that play was ridiculous,” Albernaz said. “I mean Henry Davis thought it was going to be a double down the line. His athleticism is one of his calling cards, and the ability of him to play all over the field and have a high defensive upside either way, either spot we put him is awesome.”

Challenged to rank it among his all-time greatest plays at any position, Alexander smiled and said, “It’s up there, especially at third. I’d say top three.”

“Top three, but I’ve made some cool plays in the outfield and not at third base,” he added. “But yeah, it was up there. Cool moment, just make a play, just trying to get us back in the dugout, try to get a couple runs.

“Pre-pitch, it’s I want the ball. Even Gunnar said it early, I’m hunting the ball. It’s easier to hunt the ball than let the ball hunt you. It’s just a mindset you have to have out there. Chopped it down the line and I’ve got some range, used to play shortstop. I feel like I can cover a lot of ground at third base, and I just made a play, got up.

“I should learn from it. I had an early play in spring training at (Fort Myers) where I made a nasty play, diver at shortstop, came up, sailed it. What was running through my head? Stuck it, got up, pull down, throw low. Even me and (Miguel) Cairo talked about that in spring training when it happened. Regular season, glad I made that adjustment.”

Alexander also singled twice today and is batting .400 with an .800 OPS. That’s really good production from the bottom of the order.

“Just competing right now,” he said. “I’m getting hits. I wish my swing felt better. Not the hardest contact, but I’m making contact and grinding and getting on base, trying to get the boppers up, man. They hit one in the gape, I’m scoring from first, you know what I mean? I told Gunnar, told Wardy, I’m going to try to get them 100 RBIs this year.”

Rico Garcia retired the side in order in the eighth and hasn’t let a runner reach base in 3 1/3 innings.

*Catcher Maverick Handley is on the taxi squad, a convenience that seems a little more important with the Orioles putting Ruschman and Samuel Basallo in the same lineups.

The TSA issues and playing day games over the weekend also make it wise keep him close.

*Jackson Holliday went 1-for-5 with two RBIs in his latest rehab game with Norfolk.

Weston Wilson and Jud Fabian homered. Fabian’s ball traveled 428 feet to left-center field at 108.8 mph.

*Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects list has right-hander Trey Gibson at No. 69, outfielder Nate George at No. 77, left-hander Luis De Leon at No. 87 and catcher/first baseman/outfielder Ike Irish at No. 97.

The publication lists Irish as a first baseman.