The Baltimore Orioles did it again on Saturday night and have now won the series against the Houston Astros. Their pitching has been phenomenal, giving up just one run in two games. On Saturday night, it was Dean Kremer pitching almost eight innings of one-run ball. Kreamer has been a huge part of the O’s success and he’s arguably been their best starting pitcher this season.
Let’s take a look at the success of Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Dean Kremer
On the season, he’s pitched 83 innings with 62 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.24. He pitches to contact and has only made 15 starts, but every time out there he gives the Baltimore Orioles a shot to win. On Saturday night, he turned in his normal performance with just three strikeouts, but he was forcing weak contact. He gave up just four hits and his only blemish was an RBI single to Houston’s best hitter, Yordan Alavarez. Kremer has a bWAR of 2.0, a FIP of 3.52, and a SIERA of 4.25. Kremer’s bWAR leads Baltimore’s starting pitchers and only trails Cionel Perez and Felix Bautista on the pitching staff.
Could Kremer regress a little bit? Perhaps, but for now just enjoy the ride as this whole team has. The Orioles have gone into Houston’s ballpark and have outplayed them in every part of their game. Saturday night, it was Anthony Santander and Austin Hays who provided the three runs with home runs. The Orioles’ timely hitting has been off the charts these past few weeks. It’s a team that never quits and is never out of a game.The win Saturday night now puts them just 1.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the last AL Wild Card spot. The Orioles are looking like a team nobody would want to play in October.
Felix Bautista is an appropriate way to close down this article since he’s been closing down wins for the O’s. On Saturday night, he did again and pitched more than an inning, getting four outs three of them via strikeout. He didn’t surrender a hit or a walk and his ERA is now below 1.60. Bautista leads the pitching staff with a bWAR approaching 3.0. The only question is will his arm hold up since this is his rookie season. He’s pitched 57 innings so far and, if they’re going to make the postseason, it’s probably going to take close to 80 innings from him. He’s struck out 76 batters which is good for 12 strikeouts per nine innings. Every time he gets the ball it feels like the game is over.
Now can the Baltimore Orioles continue to do the unthinkable and sweep the Astros?