Statement made: O's take series over MLB-best Rays

BALTIMORE -- “We're here to make a name for ourselves."

That proclamation was made by Dean Kremer last Friday night in Atlanta, where he turned in a stellar outing and then discussed the level of talent the Orioles are trying to keep pace with in the American League East. It’s giving games in April and May a bit of a postseason-like vibe.

The feeling has been amplified this week at Camden Yards, where MLB-best Tampa Bay and fast-starting Baltimore met for the first time this season. All three games were tight, low-scoring affairs. By the end, the O’s made a statement.

They’re making a name for themselves.

Led by six scoreless innings from Kremer, the Orioles notched a series victory over the mighty Rays by taking Wednesday night’s rubber game, 2-1. Baltimore (24-13) has won eight of its past nine series, while Tampa Bay (29-9) was denied from becoming the first team in the Majors with 30 wins for the second straight contest.

“We were expecting this from ourselves -- to come in and have a chance to win every night,” said outfielder Austin Hays, who had an RBI single in the Orioles’ two-run sixth. “I think we’ve grown a lot the last couple years. We’ve learned how to win these tight games, minimize some of the damage and just continue to fight.”

These close contests against top teams were ones that still didn’t go Baltimore’s way a ton during its 83-win 2022 campaign. And, of course, these types of matchups were rarely even competitive in the early years of manager Brandon Hyde’s tenure from 2019-21.

“To show up to the park knowing you’re going to have a chance to win every game that you play is a phenomenal feeling after some of the big losses, just being out of it in the third, fourth inning a couple years ago,” Hays said. “It’s come a long way really fast.”

Over a six-game stretch against the Braves and the Rays -- the teams with the two best records in MLB -- the Orioles went 3-3. Their two losses in Atlanta each came by one run, and they fell in the opener vs. Tampa Bay, 3-0.

Two of the victories during this challenging stretch were started by Kremer, who previously had a 6.67 ERA in six April outings. By allowing one run in 12 innings over his past two starts, he’s lowered his ERA to 4.97.

“Very pleased, regardless of who it’s against,” Kremer said. “But I’m glad it’s against teams of that caliber.”

Kremer blanked the Rays by relying heavily on his four-seam fastball, which the 27-year-old right-hander threw for 31 of his 95 pitches. His heater maxed out at 97.5 mph, per Statcast, and averaged a career-best 95.9.

Although Tampa Bay had a pair of runners on with less than two outs in the first, fourth and fifth, Kremer pitched out of trouble each time. He retired each of the final six batters he faced, a stretch in which he collected three of his four strikeouts.

Hyde called Kremer’s outing “even better” than his impressive one in Atlanta.

“He’s figuring out a little bit, learning how to pitch,” Hyde said. “That’s a tough lineup to navigate through, and he did an outstanding job.”

The Rays’ lone run came on a one-out RBI single by Wander Franco off right-hander Austin Voth in the eighth. Then, Hyde turned to left-hander Danny Coulombe, who punched out both pinch-hitter Randy Arozarena and Harold Ramírez to strand Franco (who represented the potential tying run) on second.

With closer Félix Bautista unavailable after recording a four-out save the night before, the Orioles gave the save opportunity to Yennier Cano. The 29-year-old breakout setup man maintained his 0.00 ERA and lowered his WHIP to a miniscule 0.16 with a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out Josh Lowe swinging to end it.

Tampa Bay, which has scored an MLB-high 231 runs, plated six over its three games in Baltimore. It had only one during the final 13 innings of the series.

Of the several reasons for the Orioles’ statement-making performance, none were more important than the job done by their pitching staff.

“We come in here and play against these guys, who are very difficult to play against because their pitching is so good and their lineup is the best in baseball right now and they just do a lot of things really, really well,” Hyde said. “Our pitching really stepped up.”