Road woes proliferate as Kremer scuffles

When the Orioles brought Dean Kremer back from Triple-A Norfolk on June 14 -- to plug John Means’ vacant rotation spot -- their hope was the rookie right-hander would begin trending upwards after three weeks refining his repertoire in the Minor Leagues. Another troubling start from Kremer on Thursday, however, precluded any positive momentum.

Opening a 10-game road trip after sustaining a sweep at the hands of the Astros, the Orioles suffered a 9-0 loss to the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, N.Y., that got out of hand after Kremer endured the worst start of his career. The loss was the O's 20th consecutive road defeat, extending their franchise record.

The Jays’ first six runs came off Kremer, who became the first O's pitcher in the Modern Era to issue at least five walks while recording one out or fewer. Kremer walked his first three hitters, and five of eight, including four ahead of Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s grand slam. Kremer allowed six runs in one-third of an inning in what was, statistically, the worst start by a Baltimore pitcher since Dylan Bundy allowed seven earned runs without recording an out on May 8, 2018, against the Royals.

“Right now, it’s more mental than physical,” Kremer said. “Five walks? That’s embarrassing on my part and for our team. That’s unacceptable. That can’t happen.”

Said manager Brandon Hyde: “I didn’t see anything that was physical, and we didn’t see anything mechanical. So it’s hard when you get one out and walk five. This is something he needs to work on, and I don’t have much else to say about it, to be honest with you.”

The Orioles’ offense, meanwhile, found little traction against Jays starter Anthony Kay and four relievers, who held Baltimore scoreless for the second straight game. The O’s have not scored in 24 consecutive innings dating back to Tuesday.

“When you’re down a touchdown early, that’s not easy to come back from,” Hyde said.

Thursday was the latest in an increasingly concerning stretch for Kremer, who fell to 0-7 with a 7.25 ERA through 12 starts. He is just the fourth Orioles starter in the Wild Card Era (since 1994) to lose his first seven decisions of a season, and he remains mired in a 15-start winless streak stretching back to his MLB debut. Kremer defeated the Yankees in his first career start on Sept. 6, 2020; since, he’s 0-8 with a 7.07 ERA in 15 starts.

“It’s not going as I’d hoped or as I’m sure the front office hoped,” Kremer said. “But it's something I need to take one step at a time and not get bogged down by every failure.”

The Orioles’ 20-game road losing streak is tied for the fourth longest since 1900. Only the 2021 D-backs (23, active), 1963 Mets (22) and 1943 A’s (22) have had longer. Baltimore has now lost 14 of 15 overall and faces a stretch of nine consecutive road games against the Blue Jays, Astros and Angels.

From the (Minor League) training room

The Orioles placed Joseph Ortiz, the club's No. 29 prospect per MLB Pipeline, on the 7-day injured list with a left shoulder strain, the team announced.

The club’s fourth-round Draft pick in 2019, Ortiz earned a quick promotion on May 30 to Double-A Bowie, where he was hitting .233 with four home runs in 16 games. He joins two other top O's prospects on the injured list at Bowie: No. 4 prospect D.L. Hall (left elbow tendinitis) and No. 10 prospect Terrin Vavra (lower back strain).