The Baltimore Orioles have dug themselves into a hole, going down 0-2 in the division series. Things were starting to turn around for the club after scoring 2 runs in the first inning of yesterday’s game against Rangers starter Jordan Montgomery. The momentum was short-lived after Grayson Rodriguez surrendered 5 runs in the second, and 4 in the third. The Orioles would go on to lose 11-8 despite outhitting the Rangers 14-11. The difference in the game was Texas’ plate discipline. Baltimore gave up 11 walks, including five to Corey Seager. The early knockout punch came in the third inning when Mitch Garver hit a grand slam to put Texas up 9-2.
Earlier today, the Orioles announced that Dean Kremer would be the starting pitcher for game three tomorrow night. It’s the first road game for the O’s, as they look to stay alive in the series. The Orioles need to win the next three games in the series in order to advance to the ALCS. It will be a tall task, especially since the next two games are in Texas. Globe Life Field is a comfortable place for the Rangers, who had a home record of 50-31.
Dean Kremer has shown that the stage is never too bright. His last outing was on September 28th against the Boston Red Sox. With a division crown hanging in the balance, Kremer tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings, and had 8 strikeouts in a 2-0 win. He also had a strong outing against the Rays on September 17th. He threw 5 innings and allowed only one run and 5 strikeouts. Kremer helped propel the Orioles to a 5-4 win and clinching a playoff berth.
The Orioles need a strong outing from Dean to keep them in the game. They used seven relief pitchers after Grayson Rodriguez couldn’t get through four innings. The offense did score 8 runs, so that’s an encouraging sign. Runs will be hard to come by against Nathan Eovaldi. Known as the ace of the Rangers staff, Eovaldi went 12-5 with an ERA of 3.63 in 2023. His most recent start came against the Rays in game two of the wildcard series. Eovaldi went 6.2 innings allowing just one run and striking out 8.
It’s no easy task, but we’ve seen the Orioles win three straight games before. It all starts tomorrow night, just take it one game at a time. Manager Brandon Hyde needs to let the kids play, and they’ll have a shot. This team has shown many times that you can’t count them out.
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