Disastrous 6th inning costs Orioles in 9-2 loss to Diamondbacks

Dean Kremer appeared to be on his way to a dominant outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, but costly errors and a six-run sixth inning spoiled the right-hander’s afternoon as the Orioles lost, 9-2, in a rain-interrupted series finale.

With 31,448 fans in attendance for the Mother’s Day afternoon contest, Kremer retired the first nine batters he faced with five strikeouts on just 29 pitches. Coming off consecutive quality starts, he was on a run of 10 consecutive scoreless innings and going blow for blow with Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen. Neither offense could muster a hit as the early makings of a pitching duel unfolded.

Baltimore, which entered the game tied for the second-fewest errors in baseball at 14, then allowed three unearned runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Kremer was responsible for one of them, throwing away a pickoff attempt of Corbin Carroll at second base. Carroll later scored on a sacrifice fly.

The next inning, the Diamondbacks loaded the bases and Ramón Urías tried to throw home on a weak infield grounder. He threw the ball wide, pulling James McCann’s back foot off the base in a play upheld by replay review. The inning should’ve ended there, but Ketel Marte took advantage of the free RBI opportunity to score another run with a sacrifice fly.

The Orioles (26-13) cut the score to 3-1 with their first two hits off Gallen in the bottom of the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg, but Arizona put the game out of reach with an extended rally the following frame. Jake McCarthy hit a two-run home run and Kevin Newman drew a walk to chase Kremer from the game. Cionel Pérez then came in and allowed four straight batters to reach, including two-run swings by Marte and Randal Grichuk. Arizona scored all six runs with two outs.

“I was a little bit more wild in that second time through but in terms of damage, McCarthy put a good swing on a good pitch and that was about it,” Kremer said.

Kremer tied his career high with 10 strikeouts, including six caught looking, but was charged with six runs (three earned) on four hits and four walks. He joined Corbin Burnes, who has lost each of his past two starts while receiving a combined five runs of support, as the only Orioles starters to be charged with a loss so far in May.

“I thought the first few innings he was great,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “It was two guys pitching really well the first few innings and he just kind of made a bad pitch there in the sixth for the two-run homer but he punched out a bunch. I thought his stuff was good again and [had] a two-run homer that hurt.

“But we didn’t play our best baseball today, just all around. That was kind of sloppy for us defensively and it just kind of was one of those games for us.”

The win belonged to Gallen, who allowed four hits over six innings in his second start since returning from a hamstring strain. Adley Rutschman launched a solo home run in the sixth for one of those four hits, sending a 1-1 changeup 363 feet into the flag court in right field for his sixth home run of the year. That would be it for the Orioles’ offense, however, as the Diamondbacks’ bullpen tossed three scoreless innings to close out the game.

Baltimore’s loss was put on hold during the eighth when a sudden rainstorm opened up and forced a 33-minute delay. Albert Suárez, who had already pitched the seventh, returned afterward and got through the eighth and ninth innings unscathed to lower his season ERA to 1.96.

“That was the highlight of the game for me,” Hyde said of Suárez’s performance. “I’ve had to use quite a few guys, two extra-inning games as of late and to be able to — for Albert to do what he did there, that was a huge pickup.”

Despite the loss, the Orioles’ victories Friday and Saturday ensured they would win their three-game set with Arizona to improve to 9-3-1 in series decisions so far this season. The Orioles continue their nine-game homestand Monday when they host the Toronto Blue Jays for the first of three games between the two American League East division rivals.

Around the horn

• Orioles 2011 first-round draft pick Dylan Bundy retired from MLB this winter, the 31-year-old pitcher told MASN’s Roch Kubatko. A former top prospect who underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction as a minor leaguer, Bundy appeared in parts of five seasons with the Orioles and posted a 4.74 ERA with 602 strikeouts in 127 games (103 starts). Baltimore traded Bundy to the Los Angeles Angels in 2019 for a package that included Kyle Bradish. His last major league appearance came in 2022 with the Minnesota Twins.

• Grayson Rodriguez threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Sunday, his second time taking the mound since being placed on the injured list on April 30. Rodriguez was unsure of the next steps but felt good coming out of the session. Though he’s eligible to return Wednesday, the Orioles have already named Cole Irvin their probable starter for that afternoon. Hyde said Friday they haven’t ruled out the possibility of using a six-man rotation upon Rodriguez’s return.

• Cedric Mullins was out of the Orioles’ lineup Sunday for the second straight day. Hyde said Saturday that he wanted to give Mullins, who was “pressing big-time” amid a 5-for-53 slump, a breather but ended up pulling him off the bench as a defensive replacement in the Orioles’ 11-inning victory. Baltimore’s outfield is about to get more crowded with Austin Hays (calf) nearing his return from the injured list.

Blue Jays at Orioles

Monday, 6:35 p.m.

TV: MASN

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