Orioles open new month with 3-0 win over Royals as Dean Kremer dazzles

Taylor Lyons, The Baltimore Sun on May 2, 2025

Published in Baseball

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BALTIMORE — Friday night’s pitchers' duel reached a climax in the seventh inning. Dean Kremer breezed through his side, holding the Royals scoreless and to just three hits to that point. Kansas City’s Michael Wacha kept pace.

Ryan O’Hearn gave the Orioles the run support they — and Kremer — long waited for with a two-run blast and the game’s first runs. Finally, the right-hander’s outing had backing. It wouldn’t be wasted. Kremer wouldn’t have forgotten this one anyway, but a favorable decision stamps it as one of the most memorable outings of the 29-year-old’s career.

The Orioles (13-18) were awful in April, their worst start to a season since 2019 in fact, and so was Kremer, who recorded a 7.04 ERA. But the turning calendar offers a natural mental reset, which Baltimore and the right-hander took advantage of in the club’s third win in four games.

Friday’s 3-0 victory over the Royals was the first time Kremer completed six innings this season. The outing was a stark contrast with his putrid first month that he ended with consecutive five-run outings. Through six starts, he only had a better ERA than Charlie Morton among Baltimore starters.

Kremer’s secondary pitches danced by Kansas City hitters. He didn’t allow a hit on his cutter, which he threw 26% of the time. All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who tormented the Orioles last October, went 0 for 4.

Kremer allowed just two base runners through his first four innings on 56 pitches. He stranded a two-out single in the fifth, a benchmark that had been a difficult hurdle for the right-hander this season. In the sixth, Kremer retired the top of the Royals’ lineup in order.

The first out in the seventh inning came on Kremer’s first pitch of the frame — his 71st of the night. He worked around a one-out single with an assist from Gunnar Henderson, who capped the inning with a sliding stop on a sharp grounder up the middle. For the first time since last September and just the second instance since last April, Kremer strutted off the mound after a masterful seven innings and 82 pitches. And his offense soon helped him.

Wacha also completed six scoreless innings and was on a similar cruising speed to his counterpart until O’Hearn’s seventh-inning, two-run homer to follow Adley Rutschman’s leadoff double. Ryan Mountcastle’s double off the left-field wall made it three consecutive extra-base hits to open the frame, then Ramón Laureano’s walk and Heston Kjerstad’s single loaded the bases and chased the Royals starter.

Emmanuel Rivera, a late entrant to the starting lineup after Ramón Urias was scratched pregame with hamstring tightness, clubbed an RBI single off reliever Steven Cruz to extend Baltimore’s lead to three. Félix Bautista, for the third time in five days, closed out the win as he inches closer back to dominance.

Bautista, like many Orioles, is trending in the right direction. Kremer starred in his club’s third win in four games, each looking more complete than the last. Last month’s team floundered. This week’s is shining.

Instant analysis

Friday was by far the best Kremer has pitched this season, and probably one of his best outings in years. Most of his final line of seven innings, three hits, two strikeouts and one walk are season bests. It lowered his season ERA by more than a full run.

It’s a positive sign for Kremer, who Baltimore would love to rely on to anchor a rotation that desperately needs stability. Tomoyuki Sugano (3.00 ERA) has been the only semblance of that so far.

By the numbers

Since 2022, Kremer has a 5.89 ERA and 1.394 WHIP in April. From May 1 on, he has a 3.52 ERA and 1.252 WHIP.

On deck

The second game of the three-game weekend set with Kansas City begins Saturday at 7:15, broadcast nationally on Fox. Sugano, whose 3.00 ERA is lowest among active Orioles starters, will face Royals left-hander Kris Bubic.