​Dean Kremer lasted five innings in Wednesday night’s loss to the Chicago Cubs at Camden Yards, surrendering four solo homers in a 9-7 defeat but insisting after his fourth start of the season that he had no complaints about his outing. “I mean, I’m not going to take anything back,” Kremer said. “I felt like I executed very well. I executed the game plan very well, and balls just got hit up in the air and they carried.” Those long balls have been a recurring theme this season, and the outcomes are beginning to contradict the right-hander’s confidence.
Pete Crow-Armstrong drove two of the homers, while Michael Conforto and Carson Kelly followed with back-to-back shots to open the fifth inning, flipping a 3-1 Orioles lead into a 4-3 deficit in a matter of minutes. Kremer finished with six hits allowed, four earned runs, four strikeouts, and one walk on 92 pitches, with 10 of his batted balls in the air and only four on the ground. Since returning from the 60-day injured list on July 1 after missing more than two months with a right quad strain, Kremer has shown a wide variance in results.
His first start back against the White Sox was encouraging, holding Chicago to one earned run over six innings in a 6-1 victory. But Wednesday’s performance squandered much of that goodwill and lifted his season ERA from 3.18 to 4.09 across just 22 innings. The home-run issue compounds concerns, as Kremer has yielded nine home runs in those 22 innings—a pace of nearly four homers per nine innings. For a pitcher who has traditionally thrived on locating pitches and generating contact, allowing that many homers changes the dynamic, because even when he spots pitches where he wants, they are still leaving the yard.
Baltimore enters the All-Star break at 42-51, and the rotation has been a key factor behind the Orioles’ uneven season. With the trade deadline looming and the front office weighing its options, Kremer’s struggles invite questions about who should occupy the starting rotation down the stretch. The bullpen hasn’t been immune to problems either; Ryan Helsley’s latest injury scare adds another layer of uncertainty, while Brandon Young has quietly emerged as the most reliable arm in the bullpen with a 3.04 ERA this season.
Kremer is a seven-year veteran on a one-year deal, known as a dependable innings eater for much of his Baltimore tenure. But dependability has not equaled effectiveness in 2024, and the latest results suggest the Orioles might benefit from exploring other options, whether through the trade market or internal depth. The clock is ticking on patience as Baltimore fights to preserve any remaining playoff hopes. This is a pivotal moment for the Orioles’ rotation and the broader roster, as executive decision-making in the coming weeks could significantly shape the team’s fortunes down the stretch.