Friday night’s game meant a lot to Brandon Hyde, and he believed the same was true for Dean Kremer. Except the Orioles’ right-hander wasn’t as willing to express it.
Both men are natives of Northern California, and the series opener at the San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park represented a homecoming. In Hyde’s five seasons as a major league manager, it marked his first game in San Francisco; he and his dad, Barry, used to traverse south from Santa Rosa to watch Giants and 49ers games at Candlestick Park.
For Kremer, Friday’s start marked his first in his home state as a major leaguer, with the Stockton native in his fourth season yet to pitch in any of California’s five big league venues. When Hyde broached the topic pregame, the 27-year-old “downplayed it,” Hyde said.
“I think he was in game mode, had his game face on,” Hyde added.
The approach proved worthwhile in Baltimore’s 3-2 victory, with Kremer supplying a quality start that became a winning effort thanks to Gunnar Henderson’s seventh-inning home run. Hyde said Barry and his mom, Lucy, were in attendance, along with a dozen or so friends. He hoped his team would give those converted Orioles (36-21) fans something to cheer about, and thanks to Kremer, they did.
Kremer said he had two brothers and numerous friends among the announced crowd of 27,873.
“It’s different, being that I’m always on the East Coast, and I don’t get too many opportunities to come to the West Coast and see people that I used to,” Kremer said. “It’s really nice.”
After Maryland product LaMonte Wade Jr. sent Kremer’s first major league pitch in his home state into McCovey Cove beyond the right field — the Giants’ 100th “Splash Hit” since the ballpark opened in 2000 — Kremer allowed only four more hits and one other run over six innings. After a rough April, he has a 2.55 ERA over his past six starts.
“No matter what the situation was, he went out there and just worked his butt off,” Henderson said. “It’s what he’s been doing. … He’s gone out there and thrown it really well, and no matter what happens, he’s gonna go out there and still compete.”
After the first inning, streamers were released around the ballpark in recognition of Wade’s solo shot. The Orioles’ offense then offered reason to celebrate, striking for two runs off Giants right-hander Logan Webb, also a native Californian. Austin Hays opened the inning with a double that came inches from clearing the fence in center. After Aaron Hicks walked, Ryan O’Hearn grounded a single up the middle to tie the game, with Jorge Mateo’s swinging-bunt infield hit bringing home Hicks.
The Giants evened the score on an RBI double from Mike Yastrzemski, a former Orioles minor leaguer, in the third after right fielder Anthony Santander threw out the potential tying run at home a batter earlier. Both lineups then went quiet.
After Mateo’s infield single, Baltimore’s only base runner through the sixth came when he reached on catcher’s interference in the fifth. That ruling required a replay review, with another determining that Mateo was thrown out attempting to steal second.
Kremer issued walks to the bottom two hitters in San Francisco’s order to open the bottom of the fifth, his first free passes of the night, but he responded by striking out Wade and getting J.D. Davis to ground into a double play. A clean sixth ended his night, with his 100th pitch being a changeup that froze Blake Sabol for a third strike. Both Hyde and Kremer noted the right-hander’s ability to adjust after the Giants (28-29) were aggressive against his four-seamer early.
“He dealt with some adversity there in the fifth with two walks, and then be able to get out of that inning and go back out into sixth and go 1-2-3 shows you how he’s maturing as a pitcher and how he’s making adjustments,” Hyde said. “He’s really learning how to pitch.”
Henderson hammered Webb’s 87th offering, a blast to right that didn’t reach the water but approached it rapidly. At 110.7 mph, it was the Orioles’ fourth hardest-hit home run of the year, trailing two from Ryan Mountcastle — who was out of Friday’s lineup to get what Hyde called a “breather” after hitting .163 in his past 13 games — and one by Adley Rutschman. Henderson’s “best swing of the year” in Hyde’s estimation also left Webb with more than two runs allowed for the first time in eight starts.
Henderson agreed with Hyde’s assessment, and the rookie acknowledged that it was among the biggest hits of the year, though he cautioned that his September cameo from last year “feels like so long ago” that his memory is shaky. After hitting .174 with a .643 OPS in his first 30 games this season, the 21-year-old came into Friday with a .242 batting average and .787 OPS in his past 20.
“I’m starting to feel really good in the box,” Henderson said. “… Just getting my confidence back. Felt like it was kind of lost there at the beginning of the year, and I had to work my way back.”
A batter later, the Orioles lost an insurance run when San Francisco center fielder Brett Wisely nonchalantly robbed Hicks of a potential home run, but Baltimore’s bullpen ensured the one-run margin held up. Danny Coulombe worked a clean seventh, and although Yennier Cano found himself in rare trouble in the eighth, Baltimore’s breakout reliever got out of a jam thanks to second baseman Adam Frazier picking a 106.3 mph grounder from Yastrzemski to start an inning-ending double play.
“What a play,” Hyde said.
With a scoreless ninth, Félix Bautista secured his 15th save, striking out three batters around a two-out double. Of the Orioles’ 57 games, 51 have been decided by four or fewer runs, and 33 of their 36 victories have come in that fashion.
“Every one of our wins is like this,” Hyde said. “We don’t make it easy on ourselves, and we like to hold on tight, and we did it again tonight.
“We’re getting used to it and maybe we can break open one of these.”
Around the horn
- Infielder Joey Ortiz has yet to play for Triple-A Norfolk since he was optioned last week because he has not been feeling well.
- Baltimore acquired minor league catcher José Godoy in a trade with the New York Yankees. Godoy, 28, appeared in 26 major league games with Seattle, Minnesota and Pittsburgh the past two seasons. He was on the development list with New York’s Triple-A team.
- On the anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s death, the Giants had a pregame ceremony recognizing victims of ALS, including Sam Gomes, who coached Hyde and major league field coordinator Tim Cossins at Santa Rosa Junior College and remained close with them until his death last year. Jim Poole, who pitched for the Orioles and Giants and is battling ALS, delivered the pregame “Play ball!” call via video.
- The Orioles’ Florida Complex League team, the organization’s lowest stateside minor league affiliate, begins play Monday at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida. The FCL season goes through Aug. 22.
- Hays was named the Sports Info Solutions/Fielding Bible Awards Co-Defensive Player of the Month for his outfield play, sharing the honor with Toronto center fielder Kevin Kiermaier. Hays recorded a majors-best 10 Runs Saved in May, with his throwing arm playing a key role.
Orioles at Giants
Saturday, 10:05 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
()
