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Dean Kremer lasted five innings against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night and gave up four solo home runs in a 9-7 loss at Camden Yards, but the right-hander walked away from his fourth start of the season insisting he had no complaints about how he pitched.
"I mean, I'm not going to take anything back," Kremer said. "I felt like I executed very well. I executed the game plan very well, and balls just got hit up in the air and they carried."
Those balls have been carrying a lot this year, though, and the results are starting to tell a different story than Kremer's confidence would suggest.
Pete Crow-Armstrong tagged him for two of the homers, and Michael Conforto and Carson Kelly went back-to-back to open the fifth inning, turning a 3-1 Orioles lead into a 4-3 deficit in a matter of minutes.
Kremer finished with six hits allowed, four earned runs, four strikeouts and one walk on 92 pitches, with 10 of his batted balls going in the air compared to just four on the ground.
Since returning from the 60-day injured list on July 1 after missing more than two months with a right quad strain, Kremer's results have been all over the place.
His first start back against the White Sox was a good one, as he held Chicago to one earned run over six innings in a 6-1 win, but Wednesday's outing wiped out most of that goodwill and pushed his ERA from 3.18 to 4.09 on the season across just 22 innings.
What makes it harder to look past is the home run rate, as Kremer has now given up nine home runs in those 22 innings, which comes out to nearly four homers per nine innings pitched.
For a pitcher who has always lived around the strike zone with a contact-heavy approach, damage at that rate changes things, because even when he locates pitches where he wants them, they keep leaving the yard.
Baltimore sits at 42-51 heading into the All-Star break, and the rotation has been one of the main reasons this season has gone sideways.
With the trade deadline approaching and the front office weighing its options, Kremer's struggles only raise more questions about who belongs in the rotation going forward.
The bullpen has dealt with its own problems too, with Ryan Helsley's latest injury scare adding another layer of uncertainty, while Brandon Young has quietly turned into the most reliable arm on the staff with a 3.04 ERA this season.
Kremer is a seven-year veteran on a one-year deal who has been a dependable innings eater for most of his career in Baltimore, but dependable and effective are two different things.
Right now the results suggest the Orioles might be better off looking at other options, and whether that means the trade deadline or the internal depth chart, the window for patience is closing fast as the O's try to keep their fading playoff hopes alive.
Continue reading...
"I mean, I'm not going to take anything back," Kremer said. "I felt like I executed very well. I executed the game plan very well, and balls just got hit up in the air and they carried."
Those balls have been carrying a lot this year, though, and the results are starting to tell a different story than Kremer's confidence would suggest.
Pete Crow-Armstrong tagged him for two of the homers, and Michael Conforto and Carson Kelly went back-to-back to open the fifth inning, turning a 3-1 Orioles lead into a 4-3 deficit in a matter of minutes.
Kremer finished with six hits allowed, four earned runs, four strikeouts and one walk on 92 pitches, with 10 of his batted balls going in the air compared to just four on the ground.
A Growing Home Run Problem
Since returning from the 60-day injured list on July 1 after missing more than two months with a right quad strain, Kremer's results have been all over the place.
His first start back against the White Sox was a good one, as he held Chicago to one earned run over six innings in a 6-1 win, but Wednesday's outing wiped out most of that goodwill and pushed his ERA from 3.18 to 4.09 on the season across just 22 innings.
What makes it harder to look past is the home run rate, as Kremer has now given up nine home runs in those 22 innings, which comes out to nearly four homers per nine innings pitched.
For a pitcher who has always lived around the strike zone with a contact-heavy approach, damage at that rate changes things, because even when he locates pitches where he wants them, they keep leaving the yard.
Time to Look Elsewhere
Baltimore sits at 42-51 heading into the All-Star break, and the rotation has been one of the main reasons this season has gone sideways.
With the trade deadline approaching and the front office weighing its options, Kremer's struggles only raise more questions about who belongs in the rotation going forward.
The bullpen has dealt with its own problems too, with Ryan Helsley's latest injury scare adding another layer of uncertainty, while Brandon Young has quietly turned into the most reliable arm on the staff with a 3.04 ERA this season.
Kremer is a seven-year veteran on a one-year deal who has been a dependable innings eater for most of his career in Baltimore, but dependable and effective are two different things.
Right now the results suggest the Orioles might be better off looking at other options, and whether that means the trade deadline or the internal depth chart, the window for patience is closing fast as the O's try to keep their fading playoff hopes alive.
Continue reading...
