The streak rolls on: O's blank Angels and have won seven in a row (updated)

The way he was pitching and putting up zeroes made it a fair question to ask: Would Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer leave the game today because the Angels scored off him, or would a high pitch count send him from the mound?

He was putting up zeroes and piling up strikeouts, but his pitch counts were getting elevated, too. Meanwhile, the Orioles were not backing him with much offense as they tried to win their seventh straight game for the first time in nearly five years.

Pitch count won out over runs allowed as Kremer threw scoreless ball for the fourth time in his last five starts as the Orioles pulled out another close game, beating the Los Angeles Angels 1-0 at Camden Yards.

The winning streak continued in front of 32,286 that came to downtown Baltimore to see a hot baseball team and get a Hawaiian shirt.

The Orioles (42-44) have won seven in a row for the first time since Aug. 23-30, 2017. They continue their perfect homestand at 6-0 with one game remaining tomorrow with the Angels. They began today four games out of the final American League playoff spot and then went out and won for the 12^th time in 17 games and 18^th in the last 27. They are 21-14 since June 1.

Jorge López got the final three outs in the ninth to record his 16th save and cap off the O's fifth win by a single run during their win streak. Austin Hays made a nice running catch in left to end it with the tying run on second base. 

O's manager Brandon Hyde gave the fans some props for the second day in a row.

“Absolutely. We need to have a weekly Friday night Floppy Hat Night and Saturday Hawaiian shirt night. Those were two awesome crowds. Great environments, they were into it. Loved seeing the fans stand up in the ninth inning in a big spot. It was Major League Baseball and that was a lot of fun," he said. 

Hyde added that he is really enjoying the winning streak for his players most of all.

“Yeah, it’s been a tough few years," he said. "I just like watching our guys have success. And have the dugout and the clubhouse be all about winning and pulling for each other. It’s been hard, we had lost so many games and right now I’m just happy to see smiles on faces."

The O’s broke the 0-0 tie in the last of the fourth on Anthony Santander’s RBI single to left off Angels southpaw Patrick Sandoval. Ryan Mountcastle smoked a 107 mph single to left with one out and moved up on a wild pitch. He scored on Santander’s single to left at 102 off the bat. His 42^nd RBI, on a 1-1 slider, gave the Orioles the lead today. And their only run.

Kremer allowed five runs over 4 2/3 in his last start against Texas on Monday, and all those runs came in his final inning. Today he pitched a five-inning scoreless outing as he had for three starts in a row from June 17 to June 28 when he delivered 18 2/3 scoreless innings against the Rays, White Sox and Mariners.

Kremer got the win today and is now 3-1 with an ERA of 2.15 through seven starts.

"The goal is to go as deep as I can in the game, whether it's four, five, six, seven. It doesn't matter as long as I keep the team close," he said. 

Kremer was asked about extending the win streak to seven games.

"It's something special. It's been really fun. Like the only time I ever had this was the minor leagues and this is way better. Bullpen, phenomenal. Defense has been great and I mean spectacular throughout this stretch. Been really fun to watch and be a part of," he said. 

He did not record a 1-2-3 inning, but did tie his strikeouts career high with seven, last done on Sept. 12, 2020. He walked three and allowed just two hits, both singles, as the Angels left five on base against him. He pitched out of a first and third one-out jam in the second, getting Kurt Suzuki to pop out and fanning Brandon Marsh.

Kremer got a nifty 5-3-5 double play turned behind him to end the Angels fifth. Marsh was at second and broke for third on a grounder to Tyler Nevin at third. First baseman Trey Mancini threw back across the diamond, and when Marsh overslid the bag, the double play was recorded. Kremer had a pitch count of 95, but had recorded five scoreless innings, too. 

Sandoval took a tough-luck loss and is 3-4 with an ERA of 2.95 after allowing just the one run and recording 10 strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings on 95 pitches.

The O’s bullpen came up big again, allowing one run or less for the 51^st time this season. Bruce Zimmermann, called up today from Triple-A, made a relief appearance and got out of a jam in the sixth with the help of an inning-ending double play. An inning later, Luis Rengifo hit a leadoff double but was stranded at third with one out when Joey Krehbiel fanned Marsh. Then Félix Bautista came on and got Jonathan Villar to groundout.

In the eighth, Bautista did some really heavy lifting with a 1-2-3 inning against Mike Trout (caught looking at 100 mph), Shohei Ohtani (groundout) and Taylor Ward (looking at 100).

The Orioles recorded their eighth shutout of the year and third by a 1-0 score, the same score they won by at Oakland on April 20 and at home June 17 versus Tampa Bay.

Los Angeles (38-48) fell a season-worst 10 games under the .500 mark and has lost seven of eight games. The Orioles are 5-1 this season against the Angels and have won seven of the last eight between the clubs.

Before the game began there was a cool moment when the O's Tyler Nevin and his father Phil, the Angels interim manager, exchanged the lineup cards at home plate. Nevin got the start and went 1-for-2 with a walk. 

The Birds go for a four-game sweep on Sunday at 12:05 p.m.