LAKELAND, Fla. -- Dean Kremer's first Spring Training start went pretty quickly, and his first spring since making his Major League debut is also likely to go by quickly.

The Orioles' right-hander threw only 22 pitches in Sunday's 10-6 win over the Tigers. From the time the game started until the time Kremer threw the final pitch of his two-inning appearance, it took only 22 minutes, aided by the new pitch timer in MLB this season.

Kremer will get only one more start before going to Miami to practice for Team Israel in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. By the time he gets back from that, he will have less than two weeks to stretch out for the start of the regular season. So things might be a little hectic.

"I knew going into this offseason what it was going to be, so I made the plans," he said. "It's not too bad of an adjustment."

Kremer got to Sarasota early and considers himself "maybe an inning or two ahead of most other guys." And it's not the first time he has done this; he did the same in 2017, when he was a reliever and didn't need to build up as much.

How much Kremer can be built up by the end of March, given the interruptions to his normal spring routine, becomes the question.

"Our pitching guys are in communication with Team Israel about usage and things like that," said manager Brandon Hyde. "We talk about the pitch count and things he'll be under."

Pitchers are limited to 65 pitches in the World Baseball Classic's pool play, which could be the only round Israel plays in, considering the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela will be playing in the same pool and only two teams will advance.

Whether it's in the Classic or during Spring Training, it's all part of the ramp-up to the regular season. Kremer isn't worried about overextending himself.

"I'd like to think that I don't treat Spring Training games like Spring Training games most of the time. It's still competition," he said. "It's not just about getting ready. It's also about getting the feel for competition, so I don't think it's going to be a lot different than normal."

Kremer pitched 125 1/3 innings last season, going 8-7 with a 3.23 ERA in 22 games (21 starts). Starting on June 5, he pitched in every turn of the rotation. This year, the Orioles expect him to pitch in the first turn, but Kremer isn't sure how built-up he will be by then.

"I don't feel like that's a call that I'm able to make," he said. "I think that's coming from up top, because they're ultimately letting me go. I don't get to dictate that. So whatever they'll let me do, I'm happy with."

On Sunday he faced seven batters, giving up a first-inning home run to Nick Maton and a walk. Five of his six outs came via ground balls, with two converted into double plays.

"There were two pitches that were middle-middle, and they both got hit pretty hard," Kremer said. "Aside from that I was pretty much right where I wanted to be."

The pitch timer didn't give Kremer any problems, although he did catch himself walking off the mound at least once before quickly returning to the rubber as the timer ticked.

"I was just kind of being conscious of having 15 seconds and making sure I was ready if I have to shake [off a sign] or whatever," he said.

"It was a little bit quicker than I expected. I also rushed myself just to make sure I was ready. But every time I looked up and saw nine seconds, I was like, 'Oh, better go!' So I do know that I have a few more seconds to play with, and it'll just take a couple more outings to get used to. It should be fine."