O's game blog: Kremer, Akin start in doubleheader

As the Orioles (46-94) get set to play a straight doubleheader today with a pair of seven-inning games versus Toronto, there are a few interesting notes to review from Friday's 6-3 win.

That victory snapped Toronto's eight-game win streak. As this series began the Blue Jays were winners of 11 of 12 and 14 of 19 games. They were coming off a four-game series sweep in the Bronx, where they outscored the Yankees 25-8. They were 27-14 in the last 41 games.

The Orioles now have won three of four, five of seven and six of 10 games. They are 8-8 the last 16 games and 3-2 on this 11-game homestand.

* Center fielder Cedric Mullins hit his eighth leadoff homer of the season Friday night and the 11th of his career. It was his fourth leadoff homer since Aug. 4. Brady Anderson, with 12 in 1996, holds the O's record for most leadoff homers in a single season. Mullins has hit four homers his last six games and seven over his past 16.

* Mullins' homer was No. 28 on the year, and he later would steal two bases. He's now the first Oriole ever to have 28 homers and 28 steals in one season.

* Anthony Santander's three-run blast in the seventh gave the Orioles a 6-3 lead and was No. 15 for him. It was the 14th go-ahead home run of his career, second of the season, and third to come in the seventh inning or later. According to Statcast, it registered an exit velocity of 109.7 mph, tied for his hardest-hit homer of the season from April 7 at Yankee Stadium. That ball traveled 423 feet, his third-farthest longball of the year.

* Austin Hays and Kelvin Gutiérrez both hit triples last night, marking the first time the Orioles produced two triples in the same game since Sept. 27, 2020, also against the Blue Jays. Baltimore is the 22nd team in the majors to triple twice in a game this season. Entering Friday, no team had done so more than twice since the San Diego Padres hit three triples on Aug. 2, 2020 at Colorado.

* Hays extended his career-long hitting streak to 16 straight games. During the streak, Hays is 22-for-61, batting .361/.391/.656/.1.046 with five doubles, two triples, three homers, 12 runs and 13 RBIs. During this span he has raised his OPS from .688 to .741.

* Last night was the first time since Aug. 18 against Tampa Bay when O's pitching did not allow a home run. The Orioles had gone a season-high 20 straight games yielding at least one homer, and they gave up 31 during this stretch. O's pitching has allowed 214 homers this year, second-most in the big leagues to Minnesota at 215.

* The Orioles hit three home runs last night and are 9-9 this season when they hit three or more.

* The Orioles now have more wins in September than in all of August. They went 4-24 last month and are 5-4 this month.

* O's starting pitching is trending up. Over the last five games, O's starters have allowed two earned run or fewer four times, pitching to a 3.08 ERA. The rotation ERA is 3.35 over the past eight games.

* Friday's starter, right-hander Chris Ellis, allowed one run over five innings, stranding the bases loaded in the fourth and fifth innings. He faced Toronto for the second time in the last three starts. In those three games versus the Jays, Yankees and Jays, he has allowed just two runs and eight hits over 14 2/3 innings. Those teams batted just .154 (8-for-52) versus Ellis in those games. In four games as an Oriole, Ellis has a 2.55 ERA with 1.189 WHIP.

* The Orioles have homered 46 times at home since the All-Star break in 25 games, the third-most in the majors. Their 103 home runs at home on the season are the second-most in the American League and tied for the fifth-most in the majors.

Right-hander Dean Kremer (0-7, 7.25 ERA) is recalled today as the 29th man for the Orioles to start the opener of the doubleheader. Kremer gave up six runs in just 1/3 of an innings in his last major league start, on June 24 versus Toronto. But he has thrown well recently for Triple-A Norfolk, with five scoreless innings in his last start there Sept. 3. Over his past five games he has allowed five runs over 18 innings for a 2.50 ERA with two walks and 15 strikeouts.

Lefty Keegan Akin (2-8, 7.00 ERA) gets the start in the nightcap. Akin is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA over his past three starts. In two starts this season against the Blue Jays he is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA.

Left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu (13-8, 3.77 ERA) will start the first game for Toronto, with right-hander Thomas Hatch (0-0, 7.36 ERA) going in the second game.

Note to readers: There will be just one game blog today, so stay here for comments between games and for the second game later.