​The Orioles approached this homestand with a clear objective: secure a series win to keep their slim playoff hopes within reach. They started by dropping the opener on Tuesday, and the slide continued into tonight’s game as Baltimore struggled to climb back into contention. Pete Alonso gave the Orioles an early edge by putting Baltimore in a two-run hole, but Dean Kremer answered back by serving up three home runs in the fifth inning. Chicago added five more in the seventh, and Baltimore’s late rally fell short in a 9-7 defeat.
Kremer’s missteps began in the top of the third when he faced Pete Crow-Armstrong. The right-hander fired three consecutive splitters in the same location, and Crow-Armstrong spoiled them with a swing-and-miss for strike one, another swing-and-miss for strike two, and finally a solo homer that opened the score at 1-0.
Baltimore’s offense finally showed life in the fourth. Blaze Alexander and Jackson Holliday reached with back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners. Gunnar Henderson hit into a double play, but the twin play still allowed the tying run to score. Kremer escaped a fourth-inning jam with a zero on the scoreboard, aided by Adley Rutschman catching a would-be base stealer, and Alonso gave the Birds the lead with a two-run homer in the bottom half. Yet Kremer could not deliver a shut-the-door inning.
The Cubs answered quickly in the next frame. Michael Conforto ambushed the first pitch over the right-field fence to tie the game at three, and Carson Kelly crushed the second pitch of the inning for another homer to make it 3-3. Conforto jumped on a first-pitch fastball that sat above the strike zone, but Kremer left a cutter over the plate for Kelly. Kremer retired Dansby Swanson for the first out, but Crow-Armstrong connected for his second home run of the game, a solo shot to center that put Chicago back in front, and Baltimore never fully recovered.
Holliday started the bottom half with an opposite-field single, yet Henderson grounded into his second double play of the evening. Rico Garcia came in and pitched a clean sixth, but Chicago broke the game open in the seventh. Garcia retired Conforto before issuing a single and a walk. Craig Albernaz summoned Grant Wolfram to face Crow-Armstrong, and Wolfram struggled with his control. He walked PCA to load the bases and surrendered a sacrifice fly to Alex Bregman. Wolfram nearly escaped with one more strike, but he lost Michael Bush on a bases-loaded situation to reload the bases. The Cubs extended their lead with a wild pitch by Wolfram, and Seiya Suzuki added a three-run blast to seal the game.
The Orioles did their best to claw back. Tyler O’Neill belted a pinch-hit homer to start the seventh, and Baltimore pushed across five runs with three singles in the frame to threaten again. Alonso then stepped to the plate with two outs and runners on the corners, but the Polar Bear just missed a clutch hit, driving the ball to center for an out. Albert Suárez worked a clean eighth inning, and Baltimore did not quit in the eighth. Coby Mayo launched a ball to the second-deck in left field, and O’Neill continued to be a focal point of Baltimore’s late-inning offense.