Well, that was a one-sided letdown, wasn’t it? The O’s again failed to quash Boston’s historic winning streak, which tied a franchise-best 14 games in a 6-3 Red Sox victory. Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer bombed immediately, coughing up four runs in the first, and the Red Sox basically cruised into the record books from there.
Kremer’s First Inning Collapse Sealed Their Fate
Remember Monday’s opener? The Orioles, even in defeat, at least gave the Red Sox a heck of a scare. They went toe-to-toe with the league’s hottest team, making them sweat right down to the final out. But this game? Not so much. The Red Sox were in total control from the very beginning. Forget that the O’s actually out-hit them, because it never felt like they had a chance. The Red Sox took command *immediately*, absolutely torching Kremer for those four runs and five hits in the bottom of the first. The first two knocks weren’t even well hit, just a bloop into center and a slow roller to second. But then Boston hitters started stinging the ball. Willson Contreras lashed a single to left to load the bases, and a Caleb Durbin hit up the middle plated two runs. You’d think Kremer could limit the damage at 2-0, right? Nope. With two outs, Jarren Duran lashed a triple into the right-field corner, bringing home another pair to make it 4-0. And of course, it was the guy with a .594 OPS who delivered that monster hit! Whatever devil magic has gotten into the Red Sox definitely isn’t going away anytime soon.
No Comeback in Sight as Red Sox Dominate
We’ve seen the Orioles fall behind early and rally for a late comeback this year. This was absolutely not one of those games. Red Sox starter Jake Bennett, that rookie southpaw, was totally buoyed by all that run support. He came into the game with a 2.35 ERA and mostly kept the O’s off the board. Sure, he put some traffic on the bases, but the runs allowed were almost flukes: a gift RBI double in the third when center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela lost a routine Tyler O’Neill fly ball in the sun, allowing Pete Alonso to score, and then a solo homer by Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the fifth. And what happened? The Red Sox quickly got both runs back against Kremer, first on a Duran sac fly in the third and then a Rafaela homer in the fourth. Kremer ended up working six innings, but he gave up six runs. I wrote in the game thread that he needed to work further into the game to cool down the Red Sox, but I guess I should’ve added “and actually pitch well.” My bad.
So, here we are, another game down. Bennett did start to tire in the sixth, giving up doubles to Coby Mayo. The O’s only needed one reliever, Anthony Nunez, to finish the game, which is a good thing for the bullpen, keeping their high-leverage guys available for the nightcap of the doubleheader. But honestly, does that even matter if the Orioles can’t find a way to get a late-inning lead to protect against this Red Sox team? We’ll see if they can pull something out in the next one.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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