BALTIMORE -- Over the final two months of the 2022 season, Dean Kremer was arguably the Orioles’ best starting pitcher. He was certainly one of their most consistent.

Kremer closed out his breakout campaign by allowing no more than three earned runs in any of his final nine starts. The right-hander pitched to a 2.76 ERA over his last 10 games (which included one relief appearance), and he went five or more innings in each of those outings.

But through Kremer’s first three starts of 2023, he has allowed four or more earned runs each time out, including Wednesday night, when he gave up four over 4 1/3 innings in Baltimore’s 8-4 loss to Oakland at Camden Yards. The 27-year-old has yet to go deeper than five frames.

What’s been the biggest difference between last year and this year? Kremer has been having trouble keeping the ball in the park.

Kremer gave up a three-run homer to Brent Rooker in the first inning on Wednesday. Then, Carlos Pérez belted a leadoff home run in the fifth. After yielding 11 home runs in 125 1/3 innings last season, Kremer has given up five homers in 12 1/3 innings in 2023. The long ball has accounted for 11 of the 13 runs he’s allowed.

“I made a couple of mistakes that led to a long ball,” Kremer said. “If I can keep the ball in the yard, then I think I’d be doing a pretty good job.”

There’s evidence to back up that claim. Kremer’s velocity has been up, as his four-seam fastball averaged 94.6 mph and maxed out at 97 on Wednesday. Last year, his heater averaged 93.5 mph.

Plus, Kremer’s changeup is generating whiffs -- three of the six he threw vs. the A’s resulted in them -- and he’s been getting good spin on the sweeper he’s incorporated into his arsenal.

At times, Kremer has shown flashes of success thanks to his strong stuff, which he feels has gotten better. He got into a rhythm for a while against Oakland, retiring 11 of 13 batters following Rooker’s one-out homer in the first and the end of the fourth.

“Honestly, I think it’s improved compared to last year -- throwing harder, stuff moving a little bit more,” Kremer said. “Just got to figure out how to keep it in the zone.”

Another abbreviated outing by a starting pitcher forced the Orioles to use four relievers to navigate the final 4 2/3 innings. Manager Brandon Hyde didn’t want to have to bring in right-hander Logan Gillaspie -- who has now made a team-high seven appearances through 12 games after inducing a double play on his lone pitch of the ninth -- but it was a “dire emergency,” per Hyde, who had only closer Félix Bautista fresh and available out of the bullpen by that point.

Only two Baltimore starters have recorded an out in the sixth this season. Kyle Gibson has done it twice: a seven-inning gem at Texas on April 4 and a 6 1/3-inning outing vs. Oakland on Monday. And Tyler Wells went six innings against the Yankees on Sunday.

“Pitch count is an issue right now with some of our guys,” said Hyde, who cited Kremer throwing 90 pitches on Wednesday. “We’ve just got to be able to put guys away a little bit earlier. We’ve got to be able to get some early contact.”

Kremer remains confident he can do that, as long as he eliminates the mistake pitches left over the plate that have resulted in his long-ball troubles. That’s his biggest takeaway from his first three starts of the year.

“There’s a lot of positives, obviously some negatives,” Kremer said. “Just got to figure out a way to keep the ball in the yard, really. Then, I’ll be right where I was last year.”