O's seeking more rotation help for postseason push

ARLINGTON -- It wasn’t much of a challenge for Orioles manager Brandon Hyde to line up his starting pitchers coming out of the All-Star break. He sent right-handers Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer to the mound at Globe Life Field this weekend, in that order.

“I wanted to start Burnes, get Burnes as many opportunities as possible,” Hyde said. “Right now, Grayson’s our No. 2 and Dean’s pretty much our No. 3.”

Kremer hasn’t been at his best since returning from a right triceps strain earlier this month, nor has he been at his worst. That continued Sunday afternoon, when the 28-year-old right-hander allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings in Baltimore’s 3-2 finale loss to Texas.

Although it was the longest of Kremer’s four starts since getting reinstated from the injured list, he took the loss because he gave up a three-run homer to Jonah Heim in the fourth. The home run followed a two-out walk to Nathaniel Lowe, Kremer’s second free pass of the frame.

“Stuff has been pretty solid since I came back off the IL. I like where everything’s at and the mix we kind of have going,” said Kremer, who recorded three walks and two strikeouts during the 89-pitch outing. “Yeah, just lost it a little bit command-wise. The walks ended up hurting me.”

Kremer has a 4.74 ERA in four July starts. While that’s productive enough for a back-end starter, it shows that Baltimore needs to strengthen a rotation that is lacking in depth ahead of the Trade Deadline on July 30.

The O’s will send right-hander Albert Suárez to the hill for the opener in Miami on Tuesday. They don’t have a fifth starter at the moment -- left-hander Cole Irvin remains in the bullpen and lefty prospect Cade Povich was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk before the All-Star break -- and they could get by with only four until Saturday thanks to Monday’s off-day.

Povich (the Orioles’ No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline) could return to the big leagues soon. The 24-year-old had a 6.27 ERA over his first seven MLB starts, but he flashed his potential at times. Right-hander Chayce McDermott (the club’s No. 7 prospect) could also get his first call to the big leagues in the second half.

Still, Baltimore needs a true front-line No. 3 starter to group with Burnes and Rodriguez for its postseason push and a potential deep run through October. The role could have been filled by Kyle Bradish, John Means or Tyler Wells, but all three underwent season-ending UCL surgeries in June.

The O’s rotation would be stronger -- and deeper -- with Kremer slotted at No. 4 or No. 5. And that could become the case soon.

In the meantime, Kremer knows what he needs to do to replicate the success he had during the second half of the 2023 season (a 3.25 ERA in 14 starts).

“Keep the ball in the yard, for one,” Kremer said. “Limit the walks and execute as many pitches as possible.”

Kremer didn’t get any offensive support on Sunday, as the Orioles didn’t break through until the eighth inning, when Anthony Santander hit a two-run homer off righty David Robertson. It was the 27th home run of the season for Santander, who went deep three times during the three-game set in Texas.

Santander ranks fifth in MLB in home runs and second for Baltimore behind only Gunnar Henderson (28).

“He’s been great. It’s been fun to watch that guy continue to progress throughout the season,” co-hitting coach Matt Borgschulte said prior to Sunday’s game. “One of the things that he does so well is just that his preparation is amazing -- with his body and just with studying the pitcher and anticipating what he is going to get and what the guy is going to try to do to him. And he’s been doing a great job with that.”

The O’s couldn’t complete their comeback in the ninth, when Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad and Cedric Mullins went down in order against Rangers All-Star Kirby Yates.

Still, the Orioles (60-39) have a two-game lead in the American League East and opened the second half with a series victory. It was a solid showing after they went 1-5 during the week before the break.

“I think the All-Star break was a refreshing break for a lot of us,” Kremer said. “Kind of get our feet back under us and continue.”