Orioles beat Miami 5-2 and, for a few moments, let the good vibes roll

Perhaps all it took for the battered Orioles to look like a third wild-card team was to face an equally set-back 42-50 Marlins team. Baltimore extended its win streak to three with a 5-2 victory over Miami on Friday night at Camden Yards.

As time inches ever closer to the trade deadline, games like these offer fans a glimpse into a season that could’ve been and a team strung together by the hope of maybe somehow finding a road back to the playoffs.

“We’re playing good,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “We have played good here in a recent stretch, and I’m thrilled with how we’re doing things.”

The Orioles have won six of their last seven games and are seven games below .500 (43-50) for the first time since May 5.

Dean Kremer made one of the best starts of his career, earning the win. He floated through seven innings with the nonchalance of a pitcher with a lead and a solid outfield defense.

He pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the second, and in the third he didn’t even wait for Colton Cowser to catch the ball as it flew toward the outfield wall. He just walked off the mound, never looking back to see if the left fielder ended the inning (he did).

Since May, the righty has a 3.13 ERA. It was the third time this year Kremer pitched seven innings while giving up three hits. His splitter induced nine whiffs, the second most of his career, per Statcast.

The last time Kremer pitched seven was June 29, when he ended with three hits, six strikeouts and one walk. Friday night’s line was almost an exact copy, except Kremer upped his K’s to seven.

“Dean’s been solid,” first baseman Ryan O’Hearn said. “And he’s been that kind of rock in the rotation, it feels like, where every time he pitches, he goes out, throws the ball great and at least gives us a chance to win every time and battles. He’s just only getting better, it seems like. His last few starts have been really good. So Dean’s been awesome.”

While most of his team couldn’t find solid ground against Kremer, former Orioles infielder Connor Norby secured a single in the top of the third. He and Kyle Stowers played for Baltimore but were traded at last year’s trade deadline for Trevor Rogers. Norby started his season on the injured list with a left oblique strain, but since then he has transitioned into Miami’s everyday third baseman.

Despite Kremer’s start, for a few moments, it seemed the Orioles might be destined to give up another game in the last few innings. The Marlins’ Otto Lopez hit a two-run homer in the ninth against Andrew Kittredge to bring the score to 5-2. With a groundout to Gunnar Henderson, though, Baltimore walked away with heads held high.

“When things start rolling our way, we can do some pretty cool things,” Kremer said. “It’s definitely been, the last week and a half, very encouraging for every guy in this room, and I’m sure the staff feels that as well — that we’re definitely not out."

Meanwhile, the Orioles ate up everything Marlins starting pitcher Edward Cabrera was willing to feed them, but they were especially vicious off his sinker. On the six he threw, the Orioles collected two doubles and an equal number of singles.

Jordan Westburg rocketed one into right-center field in the first inning. Jackson Holliday sprinted home to put Baltimore on the board. Ryan O’Hearn drove home Westburg on another sinker he sent into center field, and the O’s finished the first up by two.

Westburg matched a career-high three-hit night for the third time this season. Mansolino said, although Westburg draws less attention than Holliday and Henderson, he poses a significant threat.

“They’re going to be three guys, Jackson, Gunnar and Westburg, that if you throw it over the plate, they’re going to do damage, and if you walk them, they’re going to steal second,” Mansolino said. “And you’re going to be in a little bit of a quandary, the same way we are with guys like Bobby Witt. Be careful throwing the ball over the plate, and be careful walking them, because it’s giving up a double one way or another. So we’re thrilled with those three guys right there. Especially Westy.”

Cabrera’s night ended after four innings. It was the first time since June 13 that he didn’t go at least five and the first time since late April that the right-hander gave up more than three earned runs.

Beyond eight hits and four runs, the Orioles also collected nine hard-hit balls (batted balls that Statcast records as at least 95 mph) off the righty.

“Waiting on that fastball up and staying in the middle of the field. We jumped on him early, put some runs on the board, and it was a good game,” O’Hearn said.

Notably absent from the hitting fest was the bottom of the Orioles lineup. From Cowser to former Marlin Jacob Stallings, the sixth through ninth hitters were 2-for-16.

If last week’s torrential rainfall washed away something, it was the stench of an Orioles team struggling to keep its footing for the third wild card, if only for a few moments in the last series before the All-Star break.

Sure, a doubleheader sweep of the Mets and a win against the third-place NL East Marlins aren’t much. But they are one step closer to providing actual competition, and for as long as the wins keep coming, Orioles fans should let the good vibes roll.

This article has been updated.