BALTIMORE—Over the past two weeks, the Orioles have gotten a series of excellent starts, backed by strong defense..
On a day when the weather vacillated between rain and sun, the Orioles showed the same inconsistency. Oriole starter Dean Kremer started the game brilliantly, retiring the first nine batters before allowing six runs, although three were unearned, in a 9-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks before 31,448 at Oriole Park on Sunday.
Corbin Carroll was Kremer’s first baserunner in the fourth. After his double, Kremer’s pickoff attempt was wild, and Carroll advanced to third and scored on Christian Walker’s sacrifice fly for the first of three unearned runs.
The Diamondbacks (19-22) loaded the bases in the fifth, and Carroll grounded to third to third baseman Ramón Urías. He had a forceout at home but his throw was wide and pulled catcher James McCann off the plate. Eugenio Suárez scored. Starling Marte’s fly ball, which would have been the third out, scored Kevin Newman.
That inning could have been worse if not for shortstop Gunnar Henderson’s athletic catch on Jake McCarthy’s pop fly to shallow left. With Suárez on second and none out, Henderson sprinted 103 feet to left field and made an outstanding catch.
None of those runs were earned, but the six scored in the sixth inning—three against Kremer and three off Cionel Pérez—were.
Arizona sent 10 batters to the plate. Walker made the first and last outs of the inning on strikeouts. In between, McCarthy hit a two-run homer, Marte a two-run single and Randal Grichuk a two-run double.
Kremer (3-3) allowed six runs on four hits, tying his career high with 10 strikeouts and four walks.
The Orioles (26-12), who won seven of eight, didn’t have a hit in the first four innings against Zac Gallen (5-2).
Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg had back-to-back doubles int the fifth, and Adley Rutschman led off the sixth with his sixth home run.
The game was delayed by rain for 33 minutes in the top of the eighth.