Orioles play complete game with Kremer's strong start, Henderson's home run and Mayo's first hit

BALTIMORE- What happened? The Orioles played one of their most complete games of the season, featuring strong pitching, enough hitting and flawless fielding in their 4-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.

Dean Kremer threw six strong innings for his first win since July 3^rdGunnar Henderson hit a two-run home run and Coby Mayo got his first major league hit.

“It felt like a normal baseball game,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We didn't play a lot of them, but I felt like we pitched really well, were solid on defense and got Gunnar with a big hit early and then made a nice little comeback toward the end of the game.”

“We haven't played a lot of clean games, so it was great to see that pitching performance from Dean. To me, it was his best performance of the year when he went six innings and only allowed one run. And it was great to see our guys come in out of the bullpen, have clean innings and do a really good job. That's more what I'd like to see.”

Henderson hit his 30^th Home run of the season, only his second since the All-Star Game and his first at home since July 14^th.

“Yeah, it was tough,” Henderson said. “I felt like I made a lot of the right moves to put myself in a good position to be successful. I just had a weird little run there, but like I said, I'm starting to feel good in the box and I'm starting to get into my stride.”

How relieved is Mayo? After 16 hitless at-bats, Mayo hit a single in the fifth inning.

“A sigh of relief, for sure,” Mayo said. “I was never too stressed about the goal. But then it gets to you a little bit and you want it. You want it so much because you're so ambitious.”

“And then you get the first hit. I think it came on the first play of the first inning, honestly. A difficult backhand hit, and just figuring that out gave me a little bit of confidence in that moment and set me up for the whole game.”

Mayo had 10 strikeouts in his first 16 at-bats and hopes that hitting will be easier for him now.

“I don't think anyone here was too stressed about what was going on,” he said. “I think they trust me, and this coaching staff and this organization as a whole has done a great job in the minor leagues to prepare us for this moment. Adversity exists at every level. If you don't have adversity at the beginning, you're going to have adversity at some point. Hopefully this is the right step forward and it can continue like this.”

Kremer was also happy for him.

“He can breathe a sigh of relief now,” he said. “Everyone is happy for him. We all congratulated him after the game. He can breathe a sigh of relief now and I am sure that things will soon start to look up for him again.”

Hyde knows the pressure Mayo was under.

“Every time a young player gets his first hit, you can see the relief on his face there at first base,” he said.

How did Kremer pitch? In his last six starts, Kremer has five losses and one no-decision. Against the Nationals, Kremer allowed one run on five hits, allowed two walks and struck out three times in six innings.

He considered it one of his best performances of the season.

“I agree with you on the numbers,” he said. “Sometimes it doesn't always work out that way. Emotionally, I threw well a couple of times. It just didn't go the way I wanted it to, but tonight was all inclusive. The team effort was similar to last year, when it was about timely hitting, good defense, everything. The bullpen came in and closed the bag.”

Hyde has noticed that Kremer is using his split-finger fastball more effectively.

“He's getting more and more confident with that split, he can throw his split to right-handed and left-handed hitters,” Hyde said. “It's incredible because he learned that in the offseason and it's already a pitch that he's very confident with. And I feel like he's throwing it more and more, with a good cutter, and he can go to 95 if he wants to. He's mixed the pitches really well and done a great job.”

How did the bullpen perform? Yennier Cano, Cionel Pérez and Seranthony Dominguez threw three hitless innings and Dominguez picked up his third save, his second with the Orioles.

While Craig Kimbrel has struggled over the last week, Dominguez, who was acquired from Philadelphia on July 26,^thhas taken over the role of closer.

“He's been playing the back end here for a couple of weeks,” Hyde said. “Hopefully we can get Craig going. But he's done a really good job for us since we got him at the deadline.”

Hyde was able to use his three strongest and most effective relievers for one inning each.

“There with Cano, they got two of three right-handers and he had a clean inning, which allowed Pérez to have a clean inning,” Hyde said.

“Honestly, that was a little bit of an issue that we didn't have clean innings out of the bullpen or with the starter and had to bring in someone with traffic.

“We're pretty one-sided, Cano is better against right-handers, Pérez is better against left-handers, and if they can switch lines or you don't have clean innings, it becomes a lot more difficult. So if those guys go out and get the three guys out that they should get out, we can set ourselves up a lot better.”

Is there any news about the injuries? Félix Bautista, who is out for this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last October, pitched a bullpen session at Oriole Park on Wednesday, his first since the surgery.

Right-hander Jacob Webb, who is on the 10-day injured list because of inflammation in his right elbow, should start catching this weekend and then begin training, Hyde said.

“He won't be with us for the next week or so. It's going to be a while,” he said.

Danny Coulombe, who is on the 60-day injured list after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow, has begun throwing lightly. Coulombe, who is also in Baltimore, is expected to return in late September.

What does this mean? The Orioles need to play more complete games like this. They played a lot in the first 2 1/2 months of the season, but not many after that.

What is the word? “You will keep throwing these balls until you prove you can hit them.” –Mayo before facing a major league pitcher.

What is the statistic of the day? 3. According to MLB Pipeline, the Orioles' farm system is no longer the best in baseball. They have now slipped to third place behind Tampa Bay and Minnesota. It is the first time since the 2021 preseason rankings that they have not finished in the top spot.

What's going on in the minor leagues? Double-A Bowie catcher Samuel Basallo, MLB Pipelines 11^th The most promising player of all time left the Baysox game in Altoona after being hit by a pitch on his left forearm.

Right fielder Reed Trimble scored three runs and the Baysox beat the Curve 6-1. Bowie placed right-hander Kyle Brnovich on the seven-day injured list.

Cole Irvin (0-1) allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings in Triple-A Norfolk's 13-3 loss to Gwinnett. Nick Vespi allowed six runs on three hits and three walks in an eight-run eighth inning, striking out only one batter. Left fielder Nick Maton hit a two-run home run.

High-A Aberdeen was held to just three hits in a 4-0 loss to Greenville. The IronBirds brought right-hander Preston Johnson off the injured list and he pitched a flawless inning.

Designated hitter Colin Tuft had three hits and scored two runs in Single-A Delmarva's 6-3 loss to Carolina.

What happens next? The Orioles open a four-game series with the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. Zach Eflin (8-7, 3.83) faces Nick Pivetta (6-7, 4.44). The game starts at 6:35 p.m.

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