What happened? Starting pitcher Dean Kremer and third baseman Ramón Urías were forced to leave Saturday night’s game with injuries, and struggling reliever Craig Kimbrel allowed two late runs in the Orioles’ 7-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
Not only did the Orioles (78-59) sustain two bad injuries, but they weren’t able to take advantage of the New York Yankees’ 6-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals and remain 1 ½ games behind New York in the American League East.
Kremer was hit in the right forearm by a line drive hit by Jordan Beck in the fourth inning and immediately left the game. X-rays were negative, and he was diagnosed with a bruise.
“We’re going to check him out tomorrow,” manager Brandon Hyde told reporters in Denver. “That was scary, too, go out and it was swollen right away. We were really fortunate that X-rays were negative. Obviously, it’s going to be a little bit to get the swelling down and see how it goes.”
Urías rolled his right ankle and had to leave the game when Colorado’s Ezequiel Tovar stole third base.
“He sprained his ankle. We’re going to reevaluate him tomorrow. Nothing right now,” Hyde said. Urías was also hit in the nose by a pitch.
“Tough night for him,” Hyde said.
Kremer allowed four runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings and was replaced by Akin. Hyde used six of his eight relievers, and Kimbrel (7-5) entered the game with a 5-5 tie.
Beck’s single scored Nolan Jones, and Beek scored on an infield out by Drew Romo. Romo had a two-run double off Kremer that gave Colorado (51-86) a 3-0 lead.
“He got the first out, and then a double we didn’t really get to, and he just left some pitches elevated,” Hyde said about Kimbrel.
The Orioles fought back and eventually tied the game, 5-5. Anthony Santander hit a two-run home run, his 39th, in the fourth. Eloy Jiménez hit his first home run with the Orioles, and Ryan O’Hearn had a two-run single in the three-run fifth.
“We have a good team. We have good hitters,” O’Hearn said. “In this ballpark, things happen fast. Runs happen fast. I’ve seen crazy games in this ballpark.”
Hyde has had to deal with so many injuries, and he hopes that September is better.
“We fought back. I’d love to see us push some more runs against their bullpen there late in the game,” Hyde said. “It turned into being a bullpen game for us. Dean, short outing for him, and we just had a tough eighth.”
Jeff Criswell (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth and Tyler Kinley worked the ninth for his sixth save. The Orioles had just one hit in 4 1/3 innings against the Rockies’ bullpen.
Before the game, Hyde told reporters that first baseman Ryan Mountcastle’s sprained left wrist isn’t responding as quickly as the team hoped. He’s on the 10-day injured list.
The Orioles are expected to activate Zach Eflin from the 15-day injured list to start on Sunday and recall third baseman Coby Mayo from Triple-A Norfolk as the rosters expand to 28.
The team also signed right-handed reliever Adrian Houser to a minor league contract. Houser, who pitched seven seasons with Milwaukee, was 1-5 with a 5.84 ERA in 23 games, seven starts, with the New York Mets this season.
How’s the Orioles’ mood? O’Hearn knows how big a loss Urías could be. In the month since Jordan Westburg’s been out after fracturing his right hand, Urías has had five home runs and 17 RBIs.
“Ramón’s been, I wouldn’t say carrying us, but close to it over the last week or so, maybe more going back,” O’Hearn said. “Hopefully, it’s nothing serious and we’ll get him back soon.
“We’ll get Westy back, we’ll get Mounty back, Zach’s coming back tomorrow. We have reinforcements on the way at some point. In the meantime, we need to find a way to scratch and win games.”
O’Hearn has stayed healthy all year, and he’s tired of seeing his teammates get hurt.
“I don’t want to see Dean get smoked by a line drive or Urías hurt his [ankle] or any of that,” he said. “It’s not football, but injuries happen in this game. Over the course of a season, a lot of crazy things happen on a baseball field. That’s a freak thing, those two plays. We hope those guys are going to be back, sooner rather than later.”
The Orioles have one more game with the Rockies and go home to play the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays in a six-game homestand.
“That’s the goal. Show up tomorrow and win a game, win the series and take some momentum going back home,” O’Hearn said. “Get hot in September, have some guys come back. That’s the plan. That’s all you can do.”
Even though there have been many injuries, O’Hearn knows the team must play on.
“Every team experiences injuries,’ he said. “I think it’s a bit of an excuse, to be honest.”
What does it mean? The Orioles have had an incredible amount of injuries, and while they haven’t played consistently for more than two months, they remain in the first wild-card spot. They’ll have to play better in the final four weeks of the season.
What’s the word? “I don’t want to say there’s not a sense of urgency because there is. Maybe defensively later in games, we’ve got to be a little sharper.”
What’s the stat of the day? 5.62. The Orioles had just one hit against a Colorado bullpen that had a 5.62 ERA entering the game.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? In his second start for Triple-A Norfolk, Trevor Rogers (0-2) allowed two runs on three hits in six innings in the Tides’ 3-1 loss to Jacksonville. Reliever Nick Anderson threw a scoreless inning. Rightfielder Daniel Johnson hit his 21st home run.
Double-A Bowie leftfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. left the Baysox’s game with left quadriceps tightness in a 3-2 loss to Akron.
Four High-A Aberdeen pitchers combined to limit Wilmington to five hits in a 2-0 win. Zach Fruit started and pitched four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits.
Second baseman Ryan Stafford had a two-run double and leftfielder Elis Cuevas homered as Single-A Delmarva beat Salem, 6-1. Juan Rojas (4-5) allowed one run on two hits in 5 1/3 innings.
What’s next? Zach Eflin (9-7, 3.72) is likely to come off the 15-day injured list to face Cal Quantrill (8-9, 4.63) on Sunday in the final game of the three-game series. Game time is 3:10 p.m.
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