BALTIMORE — Adley Rutschman did something he never had in the majors Friday night. A 2-1 curveball from Dean Kremer got by the Orioles’ standout rookie catcher, the first passed ball of Rutschman’s career. He entered the game with the Houston Astros with the second-most innings caught without one this season.
It was perhaps the only miscue of the night for the battery. Kremer worked out of the top of that fourth inning en route to a shutout that marked the Orioles’ third straight dominant pitching outing, while Rutschman homered in the bottom half as part of a day in which he reached base four times in Baltimore’s 6-0 win over the Astros.
The Orioles (79-71) entered Wednesday with only two outings of at least eight innings in manager Brandon Hyde’s four seasons but have since received three straight. Jordan Lyles pitched a one-run complete game in Wednesday’s series finale with the Detroit Tigers, and Kyle Bradish came an out shy of a shutout in Thursday’s series opener with Houston. Kremer got one more out than Bradish and allowed one fewer run than Lyles for the Orioles’ first shutout by a starter since John Means’ no-hitter in May 2021. It marked Baltimore’s 15th team shutout this season, their most since recording 16 in Camden Yards’ inaugural 1992 campaign.
Rutschman’s solo shot to center gave him 12 for the season, tying him for the second most for an Orioles rookie catcher. He added a double in the seventh to contribute to a six-run outburst.
The inning opened with three softly hit singles, the last coming on a check swing by rookie Terrin Vavra, who was inserted into the lineup late because of Ramón Urías’ neck spasms. Jorge Mateo dropped down a sacrifice bunt attempt but reached on an error that loaded the bases for Cedric Mullins, who promptly rocketed a two-run single up the middle. After Mateo was thrown out trying to steal his third base of the night, Rutschman doubled to left to bring home Mullins.
That buffer allowed Hyde to push Kremer further than he had Bradish in Thursday’s 2-0 victory. The 26-year-old right-hander allowed a single to open the ninth but recorded two groundouts around a strikeout to complete the game on 106 pitches.
For the third straight night, the Orioles’ starter received a Gatorade bath on the field after a victory.
