Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer departs after he gets hit on his right forearm by a line drive
DENVER (AP) — Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer left Saturday night’s game at Colorado after he was hit by a line drive in the fourth inning.
Kremer was struck on his right forearm, just below his wrist, when Jordan Beck hit a liner back up the middle on a four-seam fastball. The ball went to shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who threw to second for a forceout.
Kremer was examined by team trainers before he was replaced by Keegan Akin. The 28-year-old right-hander was diagnosed with a right forearm contusion. X-rays were negative.
Kremer was charged with four runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings in his shortest start of the season.
The Orioles also lost Ramón Urías in the seventh inning. The third baseman fell to the ground after manning the bag on a feet-first steal by Ezequiel Tovar.
Though there was no apparent contact with Tovar, Urías was looked at by a team trainer and walked gingerly back to the dugout. He was replaced by Emmanuel Rivera.
The Orioles got their weekend in Denver off to a nice start, beating the Rockies 5-3 on Friday night. Yours truly recapped the late-night action. It was a solid win, but it did not always feel like the O’s had things in hand.
Early on, the offense was almost entirely on the shoulders of…Emmanuel Rivera. The recently added, glove-first infielder came over from the Marlins with a 56 OPS+. Now, let me check my notes. Ah, yes…that is NOT good. But he was good in this game. The bearded baseballer drove in three runs, two of which came on his first home run for the O’s. With Jordan Westburg and Ryan Mountcastle on the IL and Coby Mayo not yet realizing his potential in the big leagues, Rivera figures to get some chances against left-handed pitching. He has shown himself well so far.
On the mound it was all about Albert Suárez. He tossed a career-high seven innings and really locked things down over the final four frames. It might have sounded ridiculous a few weeks ago but right now, in this moment, Suárez is the Orioles’ best pitcher. That could change a lot in September. Zach Eflin is due back soon, Corbin Burnes will (hopefully!) snap out of his August issues, and Grayson Rodriguez is working to get healthy. But it has been Suárez that has kept the pitching staff afloat in recent weeks.
Tonight it’s Dean Kremer’s turn on the bump. The righty has made three solid starts in a row, compiling a 2.50 ERA over his last 18 innings. Most importantly for him, he has kept the ball in the park in that time. That will be a challenge in the thin air of Coors Field, but it is paramount to his success.
