O's game blog: Dean Kremer pitches series opener at Cleveland

After losing three games at St. Petersburg, Fla., against Tampa Bay, the Orioles' two-city road trip moves on to Cleveland tonight. The Orioles and Indians are starting a four-game series.

The Orioles took two of three from Cleveland at home from June 4-6, winning the first and last games of that series. They won the Sunday game 18-5 over Cleveland. The O's have gone 2-8 in their last 10 games in Cleveland and haven't won a series at Progressive Field since 2016.

The Orioles (22-42) have gone 8-18 (.308) this season when playing within the American League East and 14-24 (.368) in games outside of the division. They are 4-9 versus AL Central teams. The Orioles are 3-3 when playing on a Monday in 2021, their best record on any day.

The Orioles were held to just seven runs and 11 hits in three games at Tampa Bay as they got swept. They went 11-for-8 in the series as the team average dropped from .242 to .237 over the three games.

Baltimore was swept for the seventh time this season, the fifth time on the road. The Orioles have now lost 15 consecutive road games dating to May 11 at the New York Mets. It is the longest road losing streak in O's franchise history, surpassing a pair of 13-game losing streaks from April 13 to May 17, 2018 and April 8-28, 1988. It is the third-longest road losing streak in the majors this season, behind a 16-game skid by the Texas Rangers (May 10-June 11) and a 19-game winless drought by the Arizona Diamondbacks (May 4-current).

Right-hander Dean Kremer (0-5, 6.87 ERA) was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk today to re-enter the rotation and face Cleveland. He went 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA in his past two starts, both at Triple-A. Over 8 2/3 innings, he gave up three hits and four earned runs with five walks to 14 strikeouts. He had a 0.92 WHIP and batting average against of just .109 in those games.

In his last two major league starts on May 20 against Tampa Bay and five days later versus Minnesota, he allowed 11 hits and nine runs over seven innings and gave up three home runs.

In 13 career major league starts, Kremer is 1-6 with a 6.19 ERA and the Orioles are 4-9 in those games. Kremer won his big league debut on Sept. 6, 2020 against the Yankees, but is winless in 12 starts since. He has faced an AL East foe in nine of his 13 career starts.

Righty Jean Carlos Mejía (1-1, 4.15 ERA) will make his sixth outing and third start for the Indians. He threw eight scoreless innings on three hits in his first four games this year and then got knocked out in the first inning last Wednesday at St. Louis. He gave up four runs in two-thirds of an inning. On June 4 against the Orioles, he pitched three scoreless innings on two hits and 50 pitches.

He uses his fastball 64 percent of the time with an average velocity of 93.9 mph and throws his slider 21 percent, with 12 percent changeup usage and 3 percent with his curveball.

Cleveland (34-28) is in second in the AL Central, 5 1/2 games behind Chicago. The Indians won two of three from Seattle over the weekend, losing yesterday. They are 22-15 in their past 37 games and 26-17 since April 25.

After today's All-Star ballot update, O's center fielder Cedric Mullins ranks 10th among AL outfielders with 145,537 votes. On the stat sheet, Mullins ranks first among AL outfielders in hits (78), fWAR (2.9) and weighted runs above average (17.83); second in batting average (.321), OBP (.387), slugging (.527), OPS (.914), doubles (17) and total bases (128); and fourth in extra-base hits (29). His six runs prevented are the most by a center fielder in the majors and his six Outs Above Average are tied for the most by a center fielder, according to Statcast.

Mullins' 2.9 WAR ranks as the third-best in the AL, according to FanGraphs.com, while his 2.8 WAR ranks as the sixth-best in the AL, according to STATS Platform. In the O's 22 wins, Mullins is hitting .427, hitting safely in 21 of the 22, while in the O's 41 losses he's played in, he's hitting .260.

In news on the farm today, lefty Kevin Smith was promoted from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk, to join a rotation that includes Zac Lowther, Alexander Wells and Kyle Bradish. Smith went 0-1 with a 1.04 ERA at Bowie over six games, and his ERA was the best among any O's farm pitcher with 20 innings or more and ranks 19th among all minor league hurlers. Lefty Cameron Bishop of Bowie has been named the Double-A Northeast Pitcher of the Week. He went 1-0 with an ERA of 0.00 in two games last week, striking out 12 and issuing no walks.