By Jake Rill | before an hour
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BALTIMORE – “We’re here to make a name for ourselves.”
That’s what Dean Kremer made in Atlanta last Friday night, where he put on a stellar performance and then spoke about the level of talent the Orioles are looking to keep up with in the American League East. It adds a certain post-season vibe to the April and May games.
The feeling was amplified this week at Camden Yards, where MLB best Tampa Bay and fast starter Baltimore met for the first time this season. All three games were close games with few points played. At the end, the O’s made a statement.
You make a name for yourself.
Led by six scoreless innings from Kremer, the Orioles earned a series win over the mighty Rays by winning Wednesday night’s rubber game 2-1. Baltimore (24-13) has won eight of its last nine series, while Tampa Bay (29-9) with 30 wins has been prevented from becoming the majors’ first team for the second year in a row.
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“We expected that of ourselves — to come in every night and have a chance to win,” said outfielder Austin Hays, who hit an RBI single in the Orioles’ sixth game. “I think we’ve grown a lot in the past few years. We learned how to win those tight games, minimize some of the damage and just keep fighting.”
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Those close duels against top teams were the ones that still didn’t fare well for Baltimore in its 2022 83-win season. And, of course, those kinds of duels were rarely even competitive in the early years of manager Brandon Hyde’s 2019-21 tenure.
“Showing up to the park and knowing that you have a chance of winning every game you play is a phenomenal feeling, not to be there after some of the big losses just in the third, fourth innings a few years ago be,” Hays said. “It’s come a long way very quickly.”
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Over a six-game span 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 were by one run each, and they lost 3-0 to Tampa Bay in their opening game.
Two of the victories at this demanding course went to Kremer, who had previously posted a 6.67 ERA in six outings in April. By allowing one run in 12 innings in the last two starts, he lowered his ERA to 4.97.
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“Very happy, no matter who we’re up against,” said Kremer. “But I’m glad it’s against teams of this caliber.”
Kremer knocked out the Rays by relying heavily on his four-seam fastball, which the 27-year-old right-hander threw on 31 of his 95 throws. His heater maxed out at 97.5 mph, according to Statcast, and posted a career-best average of 95.9.
Although Tampa Bay had two runners with fewer than two outs in the first, fourth, and fifth rounds, Kremer bounced each time. He eliminated every one of the last six batters he faced, collecting three of his four strikeouts in the process.
Hyde called Kremer’s performance “even better” than his impressive one in Atlanta.
“He’s figuring out a little bit, learning how to pitch,” Hyde said. “It’s a difficult line-up and he’s done an excellent job.”
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The Rays’ only run came through a one-off RBI single from Wander Franco against right-hander Austin Voth in the eighth. Hyde then turned to left-hander Danny Coulombe, who knocked out both pinch-hitter Randy Arozarena and Harold Ramírez, knocking out Franco (who represented the possible tie) in second place.
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With goalkeeper Félix Bautista unavailable after posting a four-out save the night before, the Orioles gave Yennier Cano the chance to save. The 29-year-old breakout setup man maintained his .00 ERA and brought his WHIP down to a tiny .16 with a 1-2-3 ninth, knocking out Josh Lowe with a swing to end the game .
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Tampa Bay, which has an MLB high of 231 runs, hit six runs in its three games in Baltimore. There was only one in the last 13 innings of the series.
Of the numerous reasons behind the Orioles’ meaningful performance, none was more important than the work of their pitching team.
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“We come here and we play these guys who are very hard to play against because their pitching is so good and their lineup is the best in baseball right now and they’re just doing a lot of things really, really well,” he said hyde “Our pitching has really improved.”