BOSTON — At times on Friday, the Orioles played like a Little League team in their 19-5 loss to the Red Sox.
They made four defensive blunders, gave up 18 runs in three innings and had a position player turn a blowout loss into an abomination.
On Sunday, the Orioles turned the tables and made the Red Sox play embarrassing baseball. Ryan O’Hearn’s Little League home run in the eighth — a double that he scored on after two errors — capped off an Orioles 5-1 win at Fenway Park.
The victory was one of the ballclub’s most complete this season, featuring a solid start, consistent offense and a lockdown bullpen. Dean Kremer tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings, his bullpen was just as good and Baltimore’s bats put up at least one run in four innings.
Baltimore improves to 18-34 with the win after splitting the series with Boston. Sunday marked only the second time this season the Orioles have won consecutive games and the first since May 1. It’s also the first time they’ve won back-to-back contests versus the same team. A win Monday over the St. Louis Cardinals would be their first time winning three straight this season.
Kremer carried the baton after left-hander Trevor Rogers twirled 6 1/3 scoreless innings in Saturday night’s 2-1 victory to split the doubleheader. The 29-year-old right-hander struggled as he always does in April with a 7.04 ERA, but he’s been stellar in May with a 2.97 ERA in five starts. The Orioles have received four scoreless starts from a member of the rotation this year, and Kremer has two of them after he tossed seven spotless frames versus the Kansas City Royals earlier this month.
The Orioles sport one of baseball’s worst starting rotations with an American League-worst 5.72 ERA — a significant reason they find themselves in the cellar. But the group largely pitched well this past week with good starts from Kremer, Rogers, Tomoyuki Sugano and Cade Povich.
Ramón Urías gave Baltimore a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly off Red Sox starter Walker Buehler. Dylan Carlson, who smacked two hits Saturday night, blasted a solo shot in the fifth, and O’Hearn, who raised his season average to .329 in the win, launched a solo homer in the sixth to give the Orioles a 3-0 lead. O’Hearn’s Little League homer in the eighth brought home two runs thanks to errors by center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela and shortstop Marcelo Mayer.
Relievers Gregory Soto, Keegan Akin, Bryan Baker and Andrew Kittredge combined to strike out four batters and allow only one run in their 3 2/3 frames.
Instant analysis
There are no moral victories in the big leagues. There certainly aren’t for a last-place team that was expected to be a playoff contender.
However, if anyone is in the mood for silver linings, the Orioles did play better baseball this week. There was still sloppy play, to be sure, but six of Baltimore’s seven games this week were close. The only one that wasn’t was the laughable 19-5 loss Friday, and even in that one, the Orioles led 2-1 in the sixth inning.
On Tuesday, the Orioles suffered their eighth straight loss. Since, they’ve won three of five.
Legendary football coach Bill Belichick was famous for saying, “You can’t win until you keep from losing.” The Orioles, for the most part, did the latter this weekend in Boston. Whether they can continue to do the former remains to be seen.
On deck
Charlie Morton was originally scheduled to start Friday against the Red Sox, but two rainouts and a doubleheader changed those plans. After being in the bullpen this weekend as a long relief option, the 41-year-old will take the ball Monday at Camden Yards versus the St. Louis Cardinals — his first start since May 7 when he dropped to 0-7. In three relief outings since, Morton has posted a 1.93 ERA and 35.3% strikeout rate across 9 1/3 innings. Sugano and Povich will start on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.