BALTIMORE — In a tightly contested matchup on Friday night, Dean Kremer excelled on the mound, allowing only three hits over seven innings to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals. In this rare low-scoring win, the Orioles managed their first shutout of the season.
Baltimore, occupying the last spot in the standings, now boasts a 2-16 record in games where they score three or fewer runs. This victory also marked the second instance this year that they’ve secured consecutive wins.
Both Kremer (3-4) and Kansas City’s Michael Wacha (1-4) kept the game scoreless through six innings until Adley Rutschman initiated the seventh inning with a double for Baltimore. Ryan O’Hearn then propelled the Orioles ahead with a two-run homer to left-center, his sixth of the season. Emmanuel Rivera, stepping in due to Ramón Urías’s absence from the lineup because of a hamstring issue, chipped in with an RBI single later in the inning.
Kansas City Royals saw a nine-game winning streak halted, only their second loss in the last 11 games. Bobby Witt Jr. ended his impressive 22-game hitting streak by going 0 for 4 as the Royals were shut out for the fourth time this year.
For the Orioles, Yennier Cano pitched the eighth inning and Félix Bautista closed out the game, securing his sixth save in as many opportunities. Wacha, meanwhile, gave up three runs across 6 1/3 innings and was tagged with the loss.
The Royals played solid defense with inning-ending double plays in the first two innings. Meanwhile, Kremer benefited from a fine defensive play by Gunnar Henderson in the seventh, who made a sliding stop behind second base.
Salvador Perez, Kansas City’s catcher, was sidelined due to hip discomfort, resulting in his absence from the lineup. Manager Matt Quatraro indicated his status is evaluated day-to-day.
A critical moment unfolded in the second inning when with a runner on second, Mark Canha’s comebacker deflected off Kremer towards the infield’s right side. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle recovered the ball and quickly relayed it to a hustling Kremer at first for an uncommon 1-3-1 putout, which preceded Kremer’s successful effort to retire Drew Waters to escape the inning unscathed.
In a noteworthy statistic, O’Hearn, who brought in 131 RBIs over five seasons with Kansas City prior to his trade for cash to the Orioles in 2023, has already surpassed that total with 132 RBIs in just over two seasons in Baltimore.
Looking ahead, Kansas City’s Kris Bubic (2-2) is set to face Baltimore’s Tomoyuki Sugano (3-1) in the next matchup on Saturday night.