Orioles lose to Braves, 13-5, as Kremer allows 4 runs; Kittredge update

SARASOTA–What’s happening? Cade Povich will make his third start on Thursday when the Orioles visit the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida at 1:07 p.m.

Povich, who is making a bid to start the season in the starting rotation, has allowed just one hit in five scoreless innings, walking one and striking out seven. He’ll be opposed by Easton Lucas.

Shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who hasn’t played since suffering a right intercostal strain on February 27^th, took ground balls and hit in the batting cage again. “Those have gone extremely well,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He’s doing the progression.”

Relief pitcher Andrew Kittredge had surgery on Friday to repair cartilage in his left knee. The surgery was performed in Baltimore by Dr. Leigh Ann Curl. Hyde said he anticipated that the 34-year-old right-hander would be out a few months.

“It was a broad timeline, I guess,” Kittredge said. “According to the doctors, the real thing that kind of drives the timeline is if the swelling can go down. So far, I haven’t had much swelling, so I think that’s really encouraging on that front. I know the original timeline was kind of June to the All-Star break [mid-July], so kind of broad in that sense. But everything so far was leading to believe it would be on the earlier side of that. It’s a little bit more on the trainers and how it’s going as it unfolds.”

Kittredge threw a scoreless inning on February 26^th against Pittsburgh in Bradenton and was supposed to pitch on March 1^st, but he abruptly stopped warming up. He had noticed it before.

“It was really kind of a slow, right around the live [batting practices] it was kind of a little kind of annoyance,” he said. “But it wasn’t anything that was keeping me off the field. That kind of happened for a week and a half or so. It calmed down, actually, to the point where I wasn’t getting treatment for it anymore. But [warming up for that] second outing I pitched in, it kind of grabbed on me. At the time, I didn’t think it was much, just wanted to be cautious.

“The MRI revealed that it was just a little piece of cartilage growth that was getting inflamed and irritated. Doctor’s recommendation was to take care of it now. She said it was hard to predict when it would come back. She said more than likely it would come back at some point. She said this was the only way how to predict how it was going to do would be to go in and trim it out.”

Charlie Morton pitched on the back fields instead of starting a Grapefruit League game.

What’s happened? Dean Kremer allowed four runs on seven hits in four-plus innings in the Orioles’ 13-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves before 7.024 at Ed Smith Stadium on Wednesday.

Kremer gave up two home runs, walked three and struck out two in 77 pitches as he became the first Oriole to pitch into the fifth inning.

“I think there were some positives outside of the pitch count, but definitely always pushing for that extra [inning], pushing the threshold of what your body can handle building up,” Kremer said.

In 12 innings, he’s allowed 12 runs on 17 hits, six home runs, eight walks and 11 strikeouts.

Kremer’s positives were “some pitch types, some pitch locations, some things that I was pleased with and other things I’m not as pleased with, but overall I’ll take it.”

His negatives: “Some of the results. Not necessarily pleased with. For the most part, I’ll take it. There was a lot of weaker contact,” he said.

Kremer said he’s trying to be more consistent.

“Being good is boring,” he said. “You do the same thing over and over again, and you keep doing it. You might get bored, but if you’re really good at it, it might end up working out for you.”

Before the game, Hyde evaluated Kremer’s spring.   

“It’s been a little up-and-down. I think that’s pretty common in spring training for a lot of guys,” Hyde said. “Commanding the baseball, elevating a little bit. I think the split’s been really good. You saw that last year, second half. He’s getting more and more confident with it. He’s even more now. I think he’s going to finish the spring strong. I think he’ll be ready to go.

“He fell in love with his cutter a few years ago. Now, he’s using it in better times, better spots, not missing it in the middle so much with it. He’s just continuing to develop command of all his pitches.”

After the game, Hyde said: “He threw a lot of two-seams, gave up a homer on an elevated split. Dean competes every time out. Today was a tough day.”

Minor league reliever Logan Rinehart allowed six runs, four unearned because of two errors by second baseman Jordan Westburg, while recording just two outs in relief of Kremer. Rinehart exhausted his pitch count and another minor league reliever, Zach Barnhart, allowed another run before recording the final out of the nine-run fifth.

Keegan Akin allowed two runs in the eighth. Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Corbin Martin threw scoreless innings.

Ryan Mountcastle and Dylan Carlson homered. Mountcastle also homered on Tuesday.

What’s up with? Seranthony Domínguez pitched his first scoreless inning of the spring, allowing a hit and a walk, striking out one. In four innings, he’s given up nine runs on 11 hits for a 20.25 ERA. He’s walked three, struck out seven and allowed four home runs.

“That means a lot to me because I’m trying to make adjustments,” Domínguez said of his successful outing. “It’s been a struggle the first couple of outings. I know the team needs me. They gave me the opportunity to be here. I’m happy to be here. I know myself. I know I’m better than I’ve shown.”

Even though it’s spring training, Domínguez wasn’t happy when he allowed five runs on three home runs against Tampa Bay.

“I felt really bad that day,” Domínguez said. “We work a lot to be ready for the season and give your best every single time you go out there and start to compete. When things aren’t going the way you want them, it’s a real struggle.”

What’s what? Atlanta’s Michael Harris II homered twice in the fifth inning, a solo shot off Kremer and a three-run home run against Rinehart. Braves catcher Sandy León once homered twice in an inning in Sarasota when playing with Boston on March 27^th, 2017. León also homered against Rinehart in the fifth.

What’s the word? “He’s been a pretty good starter the last couple of years, numbers-wise. I think he can be even better, though.”-Hyde on Kremer. 

What’s the number? 12. The Orioles walked 12 times, left 13 on base and were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

What’s the record? 8-9-1. The Orioles will play the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida on Thursday at 1:07 p.m.