Dean Kremer’s right thigh absorbed a 103.2 mph line drive from Mark Canha tonight in the second inning. Kremer raced to first base for the 1-3-1 putout, completed a few warmup tosses to appease manager Brandon Hyde and athletic trainer Scott Barringer, and went back to work.

That was the only way for the Royals to slow Kremer, and just temporarily.

Kremer tossed seven scoreless innings and Ryan O’Hearn hit a two-run homer to break up Michael Wacha’s shutout bid in the Orioles’ 3-0 victory before an announced crowd of 26,364 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles are 13-18 and have won back-to-back games for the second time. Tonight marked their first shutout. Ramón Urías was scratched from the lineup with hamstring tightness, but they didn’t let another health crisis distract from their mission.

It is time to turn around their season.

Orioles executive vice president Mike Elias spent about 15 minutes in the dugout today talking about the state of his 12-18 team and why he thinks it can get back to playoff form and meet the high expectations carried into the season.

He blames injuries and inconsistencies among players. And he continues to take responsibility for the record based on his role in the front office.

“It’s been really disappointing for all of us in the organization,” he said. “It’s been very difficult and we have not performed to expectations, so we all feel that. I feel that. I look at the team, look at things, and with the offense, the position player group, I think we’ve had obviously a lot of health issues. We’ve had some guys individually with just literally tough luck on the balls that they’re hitting. And then we’ve got a lot of players and guys with long major league track records who just aren’t performing to their norms. So all those being the case, I’m really optimistic and we’re optimistic that we’re gonna work out of that and things are gonna get better.

“With the starting rotation, having injuries and also starting so poorly and putting us in a bad spot because of that, it is difficult to contend with that level of injuries. But even that aside, they’ve had a poor start and that’s my responsibility and I’m in charge of baseball operations and when we have a bad record to start the year, that’s my responsibility. But we are all working very hard and we have a lot of faith in this very talented group, and piece by piece, step by step, we’re gonna get guys healthier, we’re gonna get guys performing more to their norms.

“If there’s something we can fix with a player, we’re working on that. And I’m very optimistic and confident that we have a lot better baseball ahead and we’re gonna play like the way that we should be this season.”

Jackson Holliday moves up to sixth in the order for tonight’s series opener against the Royals at Camden Yards.

Heston Kjerstad is in right field and Ramón Laureano is in left. They occupy the last two spots in the lineup.

Dean Kremer is trying to lower a 7.04 ERA and 1.565 WHIP over six starts. He’s surrendered 40 hits in 30 2/3 innings.

Kremer faced the Royals on April 4 and allowed two earned runs (three total) and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. He owns a 3.98 ERA in four career starts against them.

Bobby Witt Jr. is 4-for-11 with a home run. Salvador Perez is 3-for-11 with a double and homer.

The Orioles have moved past a hard April, when they went 9-16 after a 3-2 March. Taking two of three games from the first-place Yankees had to feel good. Some of the heat lifted. However, there’s a long way to go. The temperature can fluctuate.

The homestand continues tonight with a series against the Royals, who beat them twice last month in Kansas City. The Orioles have won back-to-back games once.

“It hasn’t been smooth in any way,” manager Brandon Hyde told the media Wednesday night. “To win a series at home, to get an off-day, hopefully this is how we’re going to play going forward.”

You know what would help?

* Score more runs.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde provided the media with the latest injury updates a few days ago, rattling off the names and progressions – if any advancements were made – in rapid-fire fashion. Recording devices were essential. Lacking shorthand skills made it almost impossible to keep up with the frantic pace.

Side sessions for Kyle Bradish, Zach Eflin and Tyler Wells. Live batting practice for Andrew Kittredge. Adley Rutschman staying in the lineup despite a bruised hand. Colton Cowser improving but not cleared for baseball activities. Jordan Westburg’s day-to-day status due to a sore hamstring that later forced him onto the injured list.

Oh yeah, and confirmation that Kyle Gibson would start Tuesday night. He wasn’t injured, but feelings could get hurt from the Yankees’ treatment of him.

Gary Sánchez was omitted from the roll call but he joined Westburg on the IL with wrist inflammation. The discomfort is felt when he swings a bat.

Also, no mention of Albert Suárez, who’s on the IL with a right subscapularis strain. In simpler terms, it’s a type of rotator cuff injury and expectations for a speedy recovery don’t exist. He’s on the 60-day injured list and eligible to return May 28.

Charlie Morton appears to be staying in the bullpen.

For how long is the question.

Morton has worked in relief in his last two appearances, following opener Keegan Akin in Detroit in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader and holding the Yankees to an unearned run last night in 2 1/3 innings. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson dropped a line drive with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh.

Not much went right for the Orioles in a 15-3 loss, but Morton lowered his ERA to 9.45 and can provide much-needed length. A fifth starter isn’t needed until May 10 due to a few more off-days, though a rainy forecast this weekend could cause some shuffling.

“We haven’t closed the door on him starting still,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “We’re trying to get him going a little bit. I wasn’t expecting going into the game that he was going to be able to pitch and he completely saved us. So for him to go 2 1/3 innings after throwing 80 (pitches) just a few days prior, I thanked him multiple times because he allowed me to not use other people.

Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting sixth tonight and Heston Kjerstad is in left field and hitting eighth, as the Orioles try to win the three-game series against the Yankees.

Ramón Laureano remains in right field. Ryan Mountcastle is batting seventh.

Cade Povich has a 5.04 ERA and 1.720 WHIP in five starts. He held the Nationals to one run in 6 2/3 innings in D.C.

Left-handers are batting .220 with a .680 OPS in his brief career, and right-handers are batting .292 with an .861 OPS. Povich has faced the Yankees twice and allowed four runs in 10 innings, and he’s walked 10 batters.

Per STATS, Povich is throwing his sweeper 44.9 percent of the time against lefties, resulting in a .200 average. When facing right-handers, he has a 14.1 sweeper usage rate that results in a .375 average.

Doing curls in the weight room isn’t part of outfielder Ramón Laureano’s pregame routine. They aren’t a superstition after he came off the bench unexpectedly and hit two home runs against the Reds. He’s pumped up, but mostly because he’s getting to play.

Colton Cowser fractured his left thumb in the opening series in Toronto. Tyler O’Neill went on the injured list over the weekend with neck inflammation. The Orioles needed Laureano in the lineup, and he responded with seven hits in a span of 24 at-bats.

Laureano doubled twice Monday night against the Yankees and drove in the Orioles’ first run.

“Love him,” said first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, who hit a three-run homer in a 4-3 win. “He’s a competitor. Man, he gets in there and competes. He’s had some big swings for us lately and I can’t say enough good things. We need to keep him going. He’s definitely a spark for us.”

Laureano’s bat couldn't reach a temperature to create one earlier in the season.

The crowd didn’t erupt when Kyle Gibson was introduced and began to warm for tonight’s start at Camden Yards. The moment lacked sentimentality, which was fine with the veteran pitcher and the team that he returned to after signing in March as a free agent.

The Orioles hoped that Gibson could get into the middle innings as they gradually stretched him out. They wanted him to provide some stability and leadership to a rotation that’s torn apart by injuries.

It couldn’t have gone much worse.

The first three Yankees and four of the first five homered off Gibson, and back-to-back doubles put another run on the board before he got the final out. Ten batters came to the plate. A swinging bunt single left Gibson sprawled on the grass, the awkward split looking as painful as the results.

Gibson surrendered another homer in the second and was charged with nine runs in 3 2/3 innings, and the Orioles’ attempt to win back-to-back games for the second time fizzled. A 15-3 loss before an announced crowd of 22,164 lowered their record to 11-18, raised more concerns about their starters and sparked another debate over the exact location of rock bottom.

Gary Sánchez had a soft brace covering his right wrist and hand this afternoon and no clue when he’d be able to ditch it and start playing again.

The Orioles put Sánchez on the 10-day injured list yesterday with inflammation in the wrist caused by a stress reaction.

“It’s been bothering me a little bit for a few weeks now,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Some days it’s doing good and then some days it’s not as well, so I thought it was the best decision to put a stop to it right now and get some rest and recover rather than continue to push through it. I think as I was trying to push through, I wasn’t helping the team as it was, so I think it’s better to get some rest right now, recover and come back ready to go.”

Sánchez is 3-for-30 with four RBIs and 12 strikeouts with the Orioles after signing for $8.5 million. The injury was impacting his at-bats.

“I think at the point of contact in my swing is when I started to feel the discomfort,” he said. “Not necessarily throwing or anything like that, but just with my swing. I really do think that was affecting me.”

Kyle Gibson is back in Baltimore and making his return start tonight with the Orioles.

Gibson was activated onto the roster this afternoon. He made 33 starts in 2023 and went 15-9 with a 4.73 ERA in 192 innings.

The Orioles optioned Kade Strowd, who was recalled yesterday and didn’t pitch, to make room for Gibson.

Gibson is 3-7 with a 5.48 ERA in 13 career starts against the Yankees. Aaron Judge is 1-for-11. Trent Grisham is 3-for-16 with a double. Cody Bellinger is 2-for-15 with two home runs.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is 5-for-14 with a double, triple and homer.

Catcher David Bañuelos made his major league debut last summer, receiving one at-bat, because he was on the taxi squad and the Orioles were forced into an injury-related roster move before first pitch. Bañuelos is on the IL with an oblique strain, but catcher Maverick Handley could get the same opportunity.

Backup Gary Sánchez went to the IL last night with right wrist inflammation. Manager Brandon Hyde described it later as “a little stress reaction in his hand.” The Orioles brought Handley to Baltimore just in case, put him on the taxi squad and selected his contract from Triple-A Norfolk.

Handley celebrated his 27^th birthday last month. He’s spent plenty of time in major league clubhouses since the Orioles chose him in the sixth round of the 2019 draft out of Stanford University. He was a taxi squad regular before Bañuelos became more of a fixture, and he’s received spring training invites.

The No. 98 is more appropriate for a defensive lineman, but Handley is happy to be the first Orioles player to wear it. Now, he just needs to get it into a game.

Sánchez will be out at least 10 days. He’s off to a slow start with three hits in 30 at-bats and he’s struck out 12 times.

All of the same questions came at the Orioles earlier today as local media detached from the team during the road trip got to take turns. Any player approaching his locker was fair game.

What’s wrong and can it be fixed? What’s the mood in the clubhouse? What’s the level of frustration? Is anyone panicked? Should everyone be panicked?

The Orioles insist that they can get on a roll. Seasons aren’t lost in April. Players aren’t melting down over the defeats. Does no good to lose composure and faith.

As if trying to quiet the noise, the Orioles took the field tonight against the first-place Yankees and didn’t lose a game.

Tomoyuki Sugano tossed five scoreless innings with a career-high eight strikeouts, Ryan O’Hearn hit a three-run homer and the Orioles hung on for a 4-3 win before an announced crowd of 22,775 at Camden Yards. The victory is their second in the last eight tries and third in 10. They didn’t forget how to form the congratulatory handshake line.

The Orioles couldn’t make it to first pitch without diving back into their injured list. It’s becoming a daily exercise.

Catcher Gary Sánchez, hit twice by pitches yesterday, went on the 10-day injured list with right wrist inflammation. Infielder Jordan Westburg went on the 10-day IL retroactive to yesterday with a left hamstring strain.

Sánchez, who signed an $8.5 million contract over the winter, is 3-for-30. He caught yesterday while Adley Rutschman received treatment on a sore right hand that kept him out of the lineup. Rutschman is playing tonight after the swelling went down.

Westburg wasn't available yesterday because of the discomfort in his hamstring, which surfaced after he started in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader. He finally began to heat up, collecting nine hits in a stretch of 24 at-bats.

In a corresponding move, catcher Maverick Handley had his contract selected from Triple-A Norfolk and he’s wearing No. 98. His first appearance will be his major league debut.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde confirmed that veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson will start Tuesday night against the Yankees.

Gibson hasn’t pitched since April 20 at High-A Aberdeen. He experienced some back soreness but is feeling better.

The rotation could use a veteran hand steering it in the right direction. The unit’s 5.83 ERA is last in the American League and 28^th in the majors, and it includes opener Keegan Akin’s 1 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader in Detroit.  

Gibson hasn’t started for the Orioles since Sept. 30, 2023. He pitched three relief innings against the Rangers in the elimination game of the Division Series.

“I hope he can just bring a lot of things, honestly,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “I know one thing, he’s gonna compete every single time out and he’s one of the best teammate I’ve ever been around in a clubhouse. He pitched really well for us a couple years ago, had a nice year in St. Louis last year. He kept us in the game more times than not two years ago and was absolutely fantastic.

Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins return to the Orioles’ lineup tonight in the series opener against the Yankees at Camden Yards.

Jordan Westburg remains out with a sore hamstring.

Heston Kjerstad is in right field and Ramón Laureano is in left. Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter.

Ramón Urías gets another start at third base, with Jackson Holliday playing second.

Rutschman owns a .416 on-base percentage against the Yankees, third-highest among catchers with a minimum 150 plate appearances, per STATS. Johnny Bassler is first at .433 from 1914-27. Rutschman’s mark is second-highest among active players behind Mike Trout’s .419.

DETROIT – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde doesn’t know whether he can count on Adley Rutschman for tonight’s series opener against the Yankees. The catcher’s swollen right hand makes it hard for Hyde to write his name in the lineup.

Jordan Westburg can add his hamstring to the list of reasons why he’s described as “banged up.” Cedric Mullins has sinus pain that he tried to ignore through 18 innings of Saturday’s doubleheader.

Eleven Orioles are on the injured list when you count pitchers Trevor Rogers and Chayce McDermott, with the latter making his first rehab start yesterday for Double-A Chesapeake and allowing a run with three walks and three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings. Catcher Gary Sánchez was hit twice by pitches yesterday and stayed in the game. Maybe the club’s luck is changing.

The rotation doesn’t stay the same.

The Orioles announced that Tomoyuki Sugano will start tonight, as expected, but Cade Povich is moved back to Wednesday. The assumption is that veteran Kyle Gibson will make his grand return to the team on Tuesday.

DETROIT – First baseman Ryan O’Hearn delivered the lineup card to home plate this afternoon. The Orioles couldn’t resort to sacrificing a chicken, especially with the price of eggs, but they needed to change their ways. They had to shed the bad mojo that tampered with their lineup, roster and win total.

They’re open to suggestions, because nothing they’ve tried is working.

Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal struck out 11 batters in six scoreless innings against a lineup missing three regulars, and the Tigers completed their weekend sweep with a 7-0 victory at Comerica Park.

The Orioles (10-17) hadn’t been swept since the Cubs won three games from July 9-11. They’re seven below .500 for the first time since July 4, 2022, and they’ve got the first-place Yankees coming to Baltimore.

“Every night, box scores aren’t going in our favor,” said Dean Kremer. “It’s tough to stay mentally engaged once things kind of start spiraling. But that’s the name of the job and being able to find our way out of that and keeping things positive. We have guys in the clubhouse who are plenty positive and try to pick us up. We’re going to be OK by the end of this.” 

DETROIT – Tyler O’Neill tried to play through the neck soreness and had to succumb.

The Orioles put O’Neill on the 10-day injured list yesterday. He’s hoping to be back when eligible to return.

“That’s obviously the goal,” he said last night. “Just, unfortunately, dealing with some pain and immobility for the better part of a week. It’s just better to get it dealt with now and not have it lingering around over the course of the season.

“Hopefully, we can knock it out and be back out there as soon as possible.”

The issue began on the last homestand, leading to O’Neill’s 15^th career trip to the injured list but the first involving his neck.

DETROIT – The bullpen gates swung open and Charlie Morton jogged onto the field, glove tucked under his arm and his routine scrambled. This wasn’t the typical starter’s stroll to the mound to begin warming for the first inning. The 41-year-old Morton was reliving the final game of his rookie season.

Manager Brandon Hyde chose to use Morton in relief after Keegan Akin went 1 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 2 of the doubleheader against the Tigers. Perhaps a change would do him good.

The results were mixed, which leaves unclear the immediate plans for him. The outcome for the Orioles was bad.

Riley Green hit a three-run homer and Morton walked five batters, but he had better results over 3 2/3 innings with the bar lowered in the Orioles’ 6-2 loss to the Tigers that completed the sweep at Comerica Park.

Today’s results left the Orioles with a 10-16 record, the first time they’ve fallen six games below .500 since July 5, 2022. They’re 1-5 going back to Sunday’s Easter egg hurt.