Orioles drop 3rd straight series with 9-0 loss to Diamondbacks: 'We're not panicking'

PHOENIX — If it wasn’t already clear, the Orioles are officially off to a slow start.

Dean Kremer gave up three home runs, Cionel Pérez continued his shaky start and the Orioles’ offense was shut out for the second time as the Arizona Diamondbacks chased them back to the East Coast with a 9-0 series-clinching win. Baltimore (5-8) has failed to win each of its first four series and dropped to three games below .500 for the first time since July 8, 2022.

“We’re off to a slow start, grinding,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’ve had a handful of good games, but we’re having a tough time putting everything together. Guys are keeping their heads up. We’ve just got to keep working. It’s a talented team that we’re not playing to our full potential right now.

“You’re going to go through challenges throughout the season. We’ve hit a challenge a little bit early in the season this year, which we haven’t in the past few years. Fortunately, it’s a long year, and we’ve just got to keep going.”

With Jordan Westburg out of the lineup dealing with a nagging upper-body injury, the Orioles mustered only four hits against Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt and never advanced a runner past second base. Their No. 5 through No. 9 hitters combined to go 1 for 15.

The Orioles’ offense has been wildly inconsistent so far this season, but lately there have been more busts than booms. Over their past eight games, the Orioles have scored more than four runs only twice while hitting only two home runs in that span. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson (1 for 4 on Wednesday) has struggled to get going since coming off the injured list and resuming his spot atop their lineup.

“Obviously, you always want to go out there and win and that’s what we’re trying to do and, last week or so, it’s been a little tough,” first baseman Ryan Mountcastle said. “But I’m sure we’ll get back on the horse.”

Kremer, pitching on the day the Orioles placed No. 1 starter Zach Eflin on the 15-day injured list, wasn’t able to give his club length or keep the score close.

He allowed a run in both the first and third innings, including a 413-foot solo homer by Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll. The game then got out of hand in the fifth when first baseman Pavin Smith and designated hitter Josh Naylor went back-to-back and Kremer plunked a batter to end his afternoon with only 4 2/3 innings.

“It’s getting hit, but I still feel like I’m putting it in good locations,” Kremer said of his splitter, a pitch that was key to his second-half surge last season but was left up in the strike zone Wednesday. “Sometimes they don’t get hit and sometimes they do get hit. Just knowing when to mask it behind some other stuff.”

Pérez entered the game behind him and promptly allowed a double to left fielder Jake McCarthy, who was 0 for 24 to begin the season, before both runners scored on a single by second baseman Tim Tawa. Kremer was charged with six runs and his ERA rose to 8.16 while Pérez, who pitched into the sixth, had his ERA fall to 16.20.

Arizona then tacked on two more runs in the eighth when Colin Selby, recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to fill Eflin’s roster spot, gave up a solo home run to shortstop Geraldo Perdomo and an RBI single by Naylor. The nine-run deficit represented the Orioles’ most lopsided loss of the season.

“I don’t think there’s any level of concern,” second baseman Jackson Holliday said. “It’s frustrating to lose, especially games you think you can win, but it’s only 13 games. We have a whole lot more, and like I said, this team is really good and I think we’re gonna be fine.”

Postgame analysis

April is far too early for scoreboard watching, so let’s not even go there. What matters this early is the Orioles, as banged up as they are, have fallen into an early hole that presents an early test of their ability to overcome adversity and stabilize things.

They faced plenty of that adversity last season between a slew of injuries and an offense that disappeared down the stretch. It ultimately proved to be their downfall, and the question now is whether that was a learning experience or it’s carried over into the new season.

It’s too soon for panic, but every win in April counts the same as it does in September. A little urgency might be what the Orioles need, though they’re not ready to go that far just yet.

“I don’t think it’s urgency right now,” Hyde said. “It’s just a little bit of frustration from guys that they’re not off to starts that are — we’re not panicking in the clubhouse. Guys are trying to put together good at-bats and feeding off each other a little bit. It’s just a little bit of a challenge right now.”

What they’re saying

Hyde on Kremer’s poor results with the splitter so far this season:

“He’s getting hurt with the long ball with balls that are middle-middle. The lefties today took some good swings off him. He wasn’t getting the split down real low, he wasn’t getting the chase with it. I like it when he steps on his four-seamer, I wish he would do that a little bit more often at times also. Just left too many balls in the middle part of the plate today against a dangerous hitting club.”

By the numbers

The Orioles’ lopsided loss dropped their run differential to minus-six on the season, making them the only team in their division currently in the negatives. It’s still too small of a sample size to make sweeping judgments, but it does show that the Orioles haven’t just been unlucky. Only one of their losses has been by one run, and four have ended with the opposing team ahead by four runs or more.

On deck

After dropping their series in Arizona, the Orioles have the day off Thursday before hosting Anthony Santander and the Toronto Blue Jays to kick off a nine-game homestand. The game will mark Santander’s first appearance at Camden Yards since signing a five-year, $92.5 million contract with their American League East rivals. Tomoyuki Sugano is scheduled to start for Baltimore in what will also be his home debut.

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