– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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BALTIMORE — Not too many weak spots are evident on the surface of the Baltimore Orioles as it continues their run as one of baseball’s best teams, but the team’s biggest liability in the starting rotation so far, Dean Kremer, was in line to consecutive starts against the top two teams in baseball to begin this month. If it is true that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, then Kremer’s beginning to the month has strengthened the team, and his latest performance put a exclamation point on a statement-making series victory.
Kremer threw six shutout innings against the best team in baseball, while Austin Hays’ RBI single capped off a two-run sixth inning that was enough for Baltimore to come away with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Wednesday evening. The Orioles took two of three from the Rays, who came into the game looking to become Major League Baseball’s first 30-win team.
Before his start last Friday on the road against Atlanta, the team with the best record in the National League, Kremer carried an ERA of 6.67, but Kremer twirled a gem at Truist Park in allowing just a run on six hits in six inning in the Orioles’ only victory of the three-game set. Kremer bested that outing tonight against the homer-happy Rays, not allowing a run and only four in six innings, keeping Tampa Bay at bay long enough to get the win when the Orioles scratched out a couple of runs in the bottom of the sixth.
“[I’m] very pleased, regardless of who [the game’s] against, but I’m glad it’s against teams of that caliber,” Kremer said.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Wednesday evening’s contest, with all photos taken by DC-area photographer Clifford Ray Williams. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 21 pictures in total.
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