Dean Kremer didn’t need the extra day anyway.
The Orioles right-hander’s start against the Toronto Blue Jays was pushed up one day after fellow starter Jack Flaherty was scratched because of fatigue. Kremer still had proper rest to toe the rubber Wednesday night at Camden Yards, and the shake-up didn’t rattle him.
Kremer twirled six magnificent innings and the bullpen followed with three sparkling frames of its own to bounce back from Tuesday night’s series-opening defeat to shut out the Blue Jays, 7-0. Anthony Santander provided two of the Orioles’ first three runs before the offense broke out in the eighth inning, as the slugger hit two solo home runs in his return to the field after missing the previous three games with lower back soreness.
“What’s the old saying?” manager Brandon Hyde said, referencing former Orioles skipper Earl Weaver’s mantra about momentum being about “the next day’s starting pitcher.”
“The next day’s starting pitcher really does matter, and what Dean did early in that game to pitch extremely well … was a huge difference coming back off the tough night last night.”
Kremer, Jacob Webb, Yennier Cano and Shintaro Fujinami combined to allow just five hits without issuing a walk for the Orioles’ eighth shutout of the season. It is their third this month, joining the club’s 2-0 win over the New York Mets on Aug. 6 and 1-0 victory versus the Seattle Mariners. The last time the Orioles pitched a shutout without issuing a walk was April 18 against the Washington Nationals — another game Kremer started.
Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins and Adley Rutschman joined Santander with RBIs, and Toronto let in an additional run in the eighth on an errant throw by catcher Danny Jansen — one of three Blue Jays errors.
The win comes a day after a 6-3 extra-inning loss that Hyde said “stunk.” The Orioles have the second-best record in the major leagues following a loss at 31-17.
“I think we do a great job of turning the page,” Hyde said.
The Orioles haven’t been swept in 80 consecutive series going back to May 2022 — the fourth-longest streak in MLB history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Baltimore (78-48) is two games up on the Tampa Bay Rays atop the American League standings and 8 1/2 ahead of the third-place Blue Jays.
Kremer was available to start Wednesday thanks to Monday’s day off and the stretched-out nature of the Orioles’ six-man rotation. He said it was a “surprise” to learn he was getting bumped up but noted he was still on six days’ rest and had prior knowledge of the Blue Jays with two starts against them earlier this season.
Flaherty said he didn’t “bounce back” the way he normally does in between starts, leading the club to start Kremer instead. Hyde said veteran Kyle Gibson will start Thursday, also a day ahead of his expected turn in the rotation.
After allowing two singles in the first inning, Kremer retired the next nine batters and didn’t have more than one base runner in any of his final five frames. His defense was similarly excellent, as third baseman Ramón Urías and first baseman Ryan O’Hearn made diving plays. The 27-year-old scattered five hits and struck out five in one of his best starts of the season.
Kremer struggled to begin the season with a 6.67 ERA in April, but he’s since been one of Baltimore’s most reliable starters with a 3.70 ERA. In his past nine starts dating back to July 5, Kremer has a 3.06 ERA and 1.075 WHIP. His quality start Wednesday was his sixth in that time frame and third straight.
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Kremer said. “That’s the goal — to really peak when September and hopefully October hit.”
Mountcastle’s RBI single in the third extended his on-base streak to 28 games — the longest by an Oriole since Nick Markakis reached in 38 consecutive contests in 2009.
Santander’s first homer off Blue Jays starter and former Oriole Kevin Gausman came on a 1-2 slider that was just 0.96 feet off the ground, according to Statcast. His second — a low-and-away fastball he yanked over the right field wall against reliever Trevor Richards — was his 23rd of the season. Santander said his back still isn’t 100% as he’s been managing the soreness all season, but all three of his batted balls Wednesday were hit harder than 98 mph.
The multi-homer game was the 13th of Santander’s career. Entering the season, the Orioles were 1-9 when the switch-hitter swatted two long balls. They’re 3-0 in such games this year.
“Nice to have him back in the lineup,” Hyde said. “He makes a huge impact on our lineup when he’s in there.”
After Mountcastle scored on Jansen’s throwing error, Mullins drove in O’Hearn with a sacrifice fly and Rutschman singled home Urías and Jordan Westburg to cap off the five-run eighth.
Webb, Cano and Fujinami were just as stellar as Kremer, retiring the final nine batters in order. Fujinami, the Orioles’ lone bullpen addition at the trade deadline, has been inconsistent with Baltimore, but he flashed his upside by striking out the side in the ninth.
“That’s the guy we know he can be,” Hyde said. “He could be a difference-maker for us throwing the baseball like that at 101 [mph] with splits below and really tough to hit. Going to keep giving him the ball, and hopefully he can help us in that back end.”
Thursday night’s rubber match will decide the three-game set, but the Orioles have long clinched the season series. Baltimore is 9-3 against Toronto — its first time winning a season series over the Blue Jays since 2017 — after combining to go 29-57 versus the AL East foe over the previous five seasons.
Santander said the success as the season progresses has him excited for playoff baseball.
“That’s our mentality since spring training. What we did last year was amazing,” he said. “We take that momentum to where we are right now, and hopefully we can keep playing to November.”
Blue Jays at Orioles
Thursday, 7:05 p.m.
TV: MASN, MLB Network (out of market only)
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
Rockies at Orioles
Friday, 7:05 p.m.
TV: MASN, MLB Network (out of market only)
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: Berkshire mont
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