Orioles drop third straight, 8-1 to Twins, as Dean Kremer and the offense stumble in rain-delayed game

For just the second time this season, the Orioles have lost three straight games.

After a 1-hour, 26-minute rain delay, starting pitcher Dean Kremer was crushed, Baltimore’s bats mustered only four hits and the Orioles lost, 8-1, to the Minnesota Twins at Camden Yards.

Kremer, who entered Friday tied for the team lead with eight wins, was bombarded by the Twins, who scored in all four innings the right-hander pitched. In three-plus innings, Kremer surrendered seven runs as his ERA ballooned from 4.50 to 5.04.

Austin Hays recorded two hits to boost his batting average to .316, but the rest of the Orioles’ lineup managed just two hits against starter Pablo López and Minnesota’s bullpen. Baltimore’s lone run came off the bat of Adley Rutschman, whose high fly ball in the sixth barely cleared the right field wall.

The seven-run margin of defeat is tied for Baltimore’s fourth-largest of the season. Three of their five worst losses have come with the Orioles wearing their City Connect uniforms, the new threads they wear Friday nights at home. They are 1-4 and have been outscored 40-10 in the uniforms.

The noncompetitive game was one of the Orioles’ most-attended at Camden Yards this season. With the popular floppy hat giveaway and a postgame concert by DJ Diesel (aka Shaquille O’Neal), an announced attendance of 34,792 — the club’s fifth-highest of the year — witnessed the drubbing.

The series-opening loss follows two straight defeats versus the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday and Wednesday. The last time the Orioles lost three straight games was May 6-8 when they dropped two to the Atlanta Braves and another to the Tampa Bay Rays. They followed that minor losing skid by winning four straight and 11 of their next 15.

After their win Monday, the Orioles were 19 games over .500 for the first time since 2014. Now, Baltimore is 48-32 and closer to fourth place in the American League East (4 1/2 games up) than of catching first-place Tampa Bay (six games back).

This story will be updated.

Twins at Orioles

Saturday, 4:05 p.m.

TV: MASN2

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

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Source: Berkshire mont