Kremer navigated six scoreless innings in Baltimore’s 2-1 victory against the Rays at Camden Yards on Wednesday, propelling the Orioles to their eighth series win in their last nine attempts. Across his last 12 innings, Kremer has allowed just one run on 10 hits, leaving the unsteady ways of his early season appearances in the past.
Hours after Mike Elias urged Orioles fans to embrace Grayson Rodriguez’s imperfections as he finds his way, they were giving him a standing ovation after a strong performance over the best team in the league.
In Baltimore’s last three losses, against two of the best team's in baseball, the lineup is hitting 2-for-29 in those situations with 11 strikeouts mixed in.
At some point in anyone’s career, even for the best baseball players in the world, difficulties arise. The question becomes: How do they navigate those struggles once the inevitability of failure in a sport defined by it arrives?
“We’ve got five months to go, so health is important, and not overusing guys is important,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said after opting not to go to Yennier Cano or Félix Bautista in the eighth.
The 38-year-old announced his retirement from Major League Baseball this week, closing a chapter that began at the turn of the century. He toiled through 10 seasons of minor league baseball, worked in the Venezuelan winter league and finally broke through to the promised land that is MLB.
With the 9-4 victory, the Orioles have won 16 of their last 20 games. They’ve won all 11 series openers this year. They hold the second-best record in Major League Baseball at 22-10. And while it’s early May, there’s a reason to be excited.
Ortiz, a Top 100 prospect, could make his major league debut against Detroit. Considered a strong infielder, he replaces utilityman Terrin Vavra, who is batting .231.
In Wells’ most recent start on Friday, he pitched a career-high seven shutout innings on 95 pitches while allowing just three hits to the Detroit Tigers.