Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino hung the label of “day game Deano” on his starting pitcher this afternoon, though Kremer’s splits in reality are slightly better at night.
Mansolino turned out to be correct, whether by accident or some sort of premonition.
Kremer shut out the Rays on three hits over seven innings and the Orioles claimed the series with a crisp 5-1 victory before an announced crowd of 19,226 at Camden Yards.
The homestand ends with the Orioles splitting six games to leave their overall record at 36-47. They’ve gone 15-11 this month and are 20-13 since Game 2 on May 24.
Brandon Lowe homered off Félix Bautista leading off the ninth, only the third allowed by the Orioles’ closer in 28 2/3 innings. Bautista issued a walk and struck out the next three batters.
Kremer produced only the third quality start by the Orioles in 17 games. He walked one batter, struck out six and provided much-needed length through 93 pitches.
The seven innings matched Kremer’s season high. He’s allowed two runs in his last three starts over 17 2/3.
The extreme heat did more than soak uniforms in sweat, it also caused a power outage in the Baltimore rack room where the major league support equipment is stored. Video was nonexistent in the clubhouses, and teams were given unlimited challenges.
Also lost were velocity readings and Statcast data at the ballpark, including pitch identifications, until halfway through the game.
Line drives by Ramón Laureano and Colton Cowser off Rays starter Taj Bradley passed the eye test in the second inning. Laureano stroked a leadoff double into left-center field and scored on Cowser’s single into left for a 1-0 lead.
Kremer stranded two runners in the first and retired 10 in a row before Jake Mangum’s infield single with two outs in the fourth. He struck out Curtis Mead on a high fastball.
Lowe walked with one out in the sixth and Yandy Díaz grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. The Rays went down in order on four pitches in the seventh.
Bradley also got on a roll, retiring nine straight after Cowser’s RBI single. The Orioles battered him in Tampa, scoring seven runs (six earned) in 1 1/3 innings, and they went after him again today in the fifth.
Gary Sánchez had a leadoff single, Cedric Mullins reached on a bunt hit and Coby Mayo lined a curveball into center field for his ninth major league RBI. Holliday moved up the runners with a ground ball to the right side, and Mullins scored on Ramón Urías’ sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead.
Ryan O’Hearn led off the sixth with a double and held on Laureano’s infield single, with Rays shortstop Taylor Walls making a diving stop. Sánchez drove in O’Hearn with a single against reliever Kevin Kelly, a bouncer off Brandon Lowe’s glove. Mullins’ fly ball increased the lead to 5-0
Mayo almost had his second major league home run, and first against a pitcher, but center fielder Chandler Simpson made a leaping catch at the fence. The ball was 105.1 off the bat and traveled 406 feet.
Cowser took his turn at robbing a hitter in the eighth, preserving the Orioles’ shutout bid with a leaping grab of Danny Jansen’s fly ball off Keegan Akin near the splash zone after Simpson singled. Lowe ruined it, but the Orioles were more interested in the win.
They need to string together a bunch of them.
* Samuel Basallo’s 16th home run today with Triple-A Norfolk traveled 444 feet. Vimael Machín homered twice to give him nine this season.
Cameron Weston allowed five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. Cionel Pérez retired all four batters he faced and lowered his ERA to 5.40.
Tyler O’Neill hit a two-run homer at Double-A Chesapeake.
High-A Aberdeen’s Eccel Correa allowed an unearned run in five innings.