BALTIMORE—The large crowd waited out the fifth rain delay of the past week. They’d come to collect their floppy hats, listen to a postgame concert with DJ Diesel, aka Shaquille O’Neal, and watch the Orioles.
Oriole starting pitcher Dean Kremer allowed seven runs in three-plus innings, equaling this career high, and the Orioles lost to the Minnesota Twins, 8-1, before an announced crowd of 34,792 at Camden Yards on Friday night.
Kremer (8-4) allowed single runs in the first and second, and a three-run third. Max Kepler hit a two-run home run.
After Kremer walked Joey Gallo, who had homered in the second, and hit Carlos Correa to begin the fourth, Bruce Zimmermann gave up a three-run homer to Byron Buxton, and the Orioles trailed, 8-0.
“Just a tough time executing. We had a tough time in the first four innings executing pitches,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Didn’t execute his pitches. Didn’t have his changeup, it looked like. He didn’t throw as many changeups for strikes.”
Kremer also worked three innings in his first start, in the Orioles’ second game on April 1st at Fenway Park.
“Got ahead of a lot of guys and just didn’t execute and put guys away,” Kremer said. “I left some balls over the middle of the plate. I’ve had a string of pretty good outings. Had some hiccups along the way. It’s a long season.”
The Orioles (48-32) have lost three straight, equaling their longest losing streak of the season. They had just one hit in the first five innings, a leadoff single by Austin Hays in the second.
Twins starter Pablo López (4-5) walked Ramón Urias and Anthony Bemboom to load the bases with two outs, but Cedric Mullins flied to left, ending the second. López allowed a run on three hits in six innings.
“He’s a strike-thrower. He’s got really good stuff,” Hyde said. “Keeps you off-balance, got really good command. We didn’t have much of an answer for him.”
Adley Rutschman hit his 11th homer to lead off the sixth. Between Mullins’ flyout and Rutschman’s homer, López retired 10 straight Orioles.
Minnesota (41-42), which leads a weak American League Central by a game over Cleveland, rebounded from a three-game sweep at Atlanta in which they were 0-for-23 with runners in scoring position.
Notes: The rain delay was one hour, 26 minutes. Oriole games have been delayed by 10 hours, 46 minutes this season. … Left-hander Nick Vespi who was recalled earlier in the day, pitched three scoreless innings and was the 40th player used by the Orioles this season. … Kyle Bradish (4-3, 3.75) will face Bailey Ober (4-4, 2.97) at 4:05 p.m. on Saturday. It’s Hawaiian shirt day.
Minor league update: Joey Ortiz’s bases-loaded walk scored Maverick Handley with the winning run as Triple-A Norfolk beat Charlotte, 5-4, in 10 innings. Third baseman Jon Lester drove in two runs. Joey Krehbiel (2-0) pitched two perfect innings. Ryan Mountcastle, who’s on a rehab assignment because of vertigo, did not play.
Leftfielder John Rhodes drove in three runs and hit his fifth home run, and third baseman Coby Mayo hit a two-run homer, his 15th, as Double-A Bowie beat Somerset, 7-6.
Shortstop Jackson Holliday hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth as High-A Aberdeen beat Winston-Salem, 5-3. It was Holliday’s sixth home run of the season.
Single-A Delmarva was held to three hits in its 13-0 loss to Lynchburg.