Kremer’s dominance and O’Hearn’s hot bat lead Baltimore to 5-1 win in Boston

Kremer delivered his second scoreless outing of the season and O’Hearn went 3-for-3 with a HR as the Orioles split their four game set in Fenway.

Dean Kremer, Ryan O’Hearn and Dylan Carlson propelled the Orioles in a complete performance against the Red Sox, as the Orioles earned a series split in Boston with a 5-1 win.

To earn a series split, the Orioles needed starter Dean Kremer to show up, and Kremer showed up in a big way. The 29-year-old delivered his second scoreless start of the season, in large part due to an excellent day for his splitter. Kremer threw a season-high 31 splitters Saturday in Boston and showed the same excellent command of his splitter we saw in 2024.

He got his first K of the day on a splitter low and away to David Hamilton in the 2nd. He then came back with an even better splitter to punch out Rafael Devers in the 3rd, starting the pitch at Devers’ knees before diving out of the bottom of the zone at the last moment. He’d get his third splitter strikeout against Wilyer Abreu to end the 5th, once again firing it low and away, just off the plate.

Kremer only gave up one hit on those 31 splitters, coming in the 4th when Abraham Toro launched a towering pop-up down the right field line. The pop-up eluded a hard-charging Jackson Holliday and Dylan Carlson, bouncing just inside the foul line and into the seats for an automatic double. The towering, looping fly by Toro had an expected average of .050.

The sixth-year veteran also excelled at working with traffic on the base paths. The leadoff hitter for the Red Sox reached in five of the six innings Kremer started. The tougher the ABs got, the more Kremer seemed to lock in on Sunday. The Red Sox were 0-4 with RISP in scoring position against the Baltimore starter, and three of Kremer’s four Ks came with runners on base.

That’s not to say Kremer did it all by himself, as he benefited from some good defense in right from Dylan Carlson. The long-time former Cardinal, who was recalled due to Ramón Laureano’s injury, started his day with a sliding catch to take a hit away from Devers in the 1st.

His best play, though, came after the Toro double in the 4th. Red Sox SS David Hamilton blasted a ball deep into the right field corner, but Carlson was able to make a long run to snag the ball in front of the short wall in Fenway’s deep right field. The long fly would have been a home run in 24 major league parks, but was instead a crucial out for Carlson and Kremer.

Carlson then backed up his run-saving catch with a homer to lead off the 5th. He turned on a first-pitch fastball from Red Sox starter Walker Buehler, wrapped a fly ball around Fenway’s Pesky Pole for a solo homer.

The homer from Carlson doubled the Orioles, after Baltimore manufactured a run in the 4th to take a 1-0 lead. Gunnar Henderson led off the inning with a walk and moved to third on a Ryan O’Hearn single that bounced through the right side. Ramón Urías then lashed a liner to straightaway center field to give Henderson a chance to tag and score. At first glance, it looked like Urías hit the ball too hard for a sac fly, but Henderson’s speed beat the throw from Boston CF Ceddanne Rafaela.

While Carlson got it down on both offense and defense, Turn and Burn O’Hearn was the Orioles’ biggest offensive star Sunday. After setting up the first run with his single in the 4th, O’Hearn provided an insurance run in the 6th with a solo shot of his own. Like Carlson, he jumped on a first-pitch fastball down the middle, launching a majestic fly ball to dead center for a 396-foot blast.

O’Hearn provided even more insurance runs in the 8th thanks to a defensive blunder from Boston. After another lead-off walk from Henderson, O’Hearn dropped a double onto the left center warning track—just missing his second home run of the game. Henderson initially looked to stop at third, but when the relay throw ricocheted off O’Hearn at second, Gunnar broke for home for the O’s fourth run. O’Hearn followed suit by taking third and then scored when Marcelo Mayer’s throw sailed over Nick Sogard’s head at third.

The Orioles’ bullpen followed Kremer’s example in shutting down a potent Boston lineup. Gregory Soto finished the 6th thanks to a sparkling play by Urías before punching out Toro to end the inning. Keegan Akin put together his fourth straight scoreless outing by working around a two-out single to post a zero in the 7th.

Bryan Baker then entered in the 8th and set down Boston’s No. 3, 4, and 5 hitters on a fly out, pop out, and ground out. Up 5-0, the O’s turned to recently activated Andrew Kittredge in the 9th to seal the win. Pitching in his first back-to-back for Baltimore, Kittredge did allow Boston’s only run on the game thanks to a Mayer double and a Toro single. However, Kittredge would come back to post two Ks, including a game-ending punch out of All-Star Jarren Duran.

**

Kremer finished with a final line of 5.1 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 1 BB and 4 K. After Trevor Rogers’ scoreless outing in Saturday’s second game, O’s starters have now combined for 11.2 scoreless innings over the last two games.

Adley Rutschman exited the game in the 5th after taking a foul ball off the mask in the bottom of the 4th. Maverick Handley replaced him and finished the last five innings behind the plate for Baltimore.

The Orioles will try and get their first three-game winning streak of the season tomorrow when they welcome St. Louis to Baltimore on Memorial Day. Charlie Morton will get the start at 3:05pm ET in Camden Yards.