Dean Kremer's scoreless gem lifts Orioles to 5-1 win over Rays: 'We needed it'

Matt Weyrich, The Baltimore Sun on Jun 29, 2025

Published in Baseball

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BALTIMORE — Camden Yards has treated Dean Kremer well this season.

The right-hander threw seven scoreless innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday as the Orioles (36-47) cruised to a 5-1 win over their red-hot American League East rivals. Ramón Laureano and Gary Sánchez both enjoyed multihit performances to pace the offense.

On a 94-degree afternoon so hot that MLB’s replay equipment experienced a power failure before the game and forced the two sides to use the broadcast feed to make challenge calls, Kremer came out firing. He scattered three hits and a walk with six strikeouts on 93 pitches, matching his season high of seven frames without allowing a run.

“The two big starts we got here from [Trevor Rogers] and Kremer on this homestand, we won those games and we won them pretty decisively,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “This whole thing, it comes down, when our starters throw the ball good, we hit better, we play better defense, we win games. And I think all 30 teams are that way. I don’t think it’s unique to us. As our starters go, we kind of go.”

Kremer, 29, lowered his ERA at home this season to 2.37 with the performance. His ERA on the road is 5.49.

“We needed it, especially with that long game yesterday,” Laureano said of Kremer’s outing. “It’s super key for us, and he’s been doing a good job.”

The Orioles’ offense backed Kremer up by slowly chipping away against Rays starter Taj Bradley. They plated one run on an RBI single by Colton Cowser in the second and two more in the fifth when Coby Mayo brought home Sánchez with a run-scoring single and Ramón Urías scored Cedric Mullins on a sacrifice fly.

“Thankful for every run that they put up, when I’m out there or when any of our guys are out there,” Kremer said. “But that’s not the focus when I step out there. I’m going to pitch as if it’s a 0-0 ballgame the whole time and kind of not budge from that mentality the least.”

Baltimore then broke the game open with two more runs in the following frame. Rays manager Kevin Cash isn’t known for leaving his starters in too long, but he let Bradley go back out for the sixth. The Orioles took advantage as Sánchez drove in another run on an RBI single and Mullins hit a sacrifice fly to score Laureano from third.

Defense was on full display as well. Rays catcher Danny Jansen nearly put a ball over the left-field wall off Keegan Akin in the eighth, but Cowser robbed the home run with a leaping catch right in front of the Orioles’ Bird Bath sign.

Tampa Bay did eventually put a run on the board in the ninth when second baseman Brandon Lowe went deep against the rusty Félix Bautista, who hadn’t pitched in five days. But that was it for the Rays as the Orioles secured the series victory and a 3-3 homestand.

Postgame analysis

Interim third base coach Buck Britton isn’t waiting around for the Orioles’ offense.

Britton waived around two runners on Sunday to help the Orioles make the most of their rallies. The 39-year-old has experience in the role dating to his time in the minor leagues, but he’s settled into the job nicely at the MLB level.

He made a strong read on Cowser’s single to left field in the second, sending Laureano around third base as the Rays’ Jake Mangum fielded the ball. The throw went wide of home plate, and Laureano scored to give the Orioles an early lead.

Britton was even more aggressive in the fifth, sending the slow-running Sánchez home from second on a hard-hit ball to center fielder Chandler Simpson. He beat the off-line throw home easily. The Orioles’ offense continued to pile on, and Kremer kept the Rays at bay enough that the runs didn’t wind up being pivotal. But Britton has quickly become an asset in his new role.

What they’re saying

Mansolino when asked if Bautista was pitching regardless of circumstances on Sunday:

“My gut feeling was he needed to get working. The way we handled that was we kind of put it in Félix’s court and said, ‘Félix, what do you want to do here?’ And he wanted the inning. So, we’ve had conversations going back to the road trip in Milwaukee, when he told us that he needed more consistent work at that time. So, we’ve tried to accommodate it.”

By the numbers

While Kremer has had a couple of hiccups lately, he’s riding two eye-opening streaks after his dominance Sunday afternoon. Kremer has completed at least five innings in 13 consecutive starts — tied for the longest streak of his career — and gone seven straight outings without allowing a home run, also a personal best.

On deck

The Orioles will hit the road this week for a rematch with the Texas Rangers, who just took two of three against them at Camden Yards a few days ago. Trevor Rogers is set to take the ball for the Orioles and is looking to build on his impressive first few outings back in the majors. He’ll be opposite Patrick Corbin, who will face Baltimore for his second consecutive start.

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