The Baltimore Orioles lost to the Colorado Rockies 7-5 on Saturday. Any loss in a tight race for the AL East title is bad enough but this loss was ugly and bad in so many ways. The Orioles entered the bottom of the eighth tied at 5 each. Craig Kimbrel (7-5) was brought in to pitch and he did what he has done a lot of lately. Kimbrel struck out the first batter he faced then allowed a double and a RBI single; the batter, Jordan Beck advanced to second on an errant throw to the plate and then stole third base. A groundout to short allowed Beck to score. Colorado made those runs hold up and tag the loss on Kimbrel (1.0 IP, 2 R, 2 H, K).
Now for the real ugliness. Starting pitcher Dean Kremer (3.1 IP, 4 R, 6 H, BB, 3 K) was hit on the right forearm by a 103 mph ball off the bat of Beck. The impact was so nasty that Kremer’s arm has a visible welt before the training staff could get to him. Initial x-rays were negative and Kremer will undergo further testing on Sunday.
Ramon Urias (0 for 2, R, HBP) left the game in the eighth with a sprained right ankle; he turned the ankle covering the base on an Ezequiel Tovar steal of third. In the fifth inning Urias was hit by a pitch that grazed his nose, evoking memories of James McCann‘s hit in the face. Ironically, Urias had to get out of the way of a pitch near the face earlier in the game.
Kremer’s exit turned the game into a bullpen game; five relievers combined to cover 3.2 innings prior to Kimbrel’s entrance.
Anthony Santander (2 for 4, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI) hit his 39th homerun of the season 437 ft. to the right center field bullpens in the fourth inning; that homerun was the 150th of his career.
Eloy Jimenez (1 for 4, HR, R, RBI) led off the fifth inning with his first homerun as an Oriole.
Jackson Holliday went 1 for 4 with a run scored while Ryan O’Hearn went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI.
2024 Record: 78-59
Next Game: Sun. 9/1 vs. Rockies @ 3:10 pm in Colorado