Orioles' bullpen spoils Adley Rutschman's first career grand slam in 9-4 loss to Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dean Kremer was showing signs of tiring, walking two straight batters in the sixth inning of an otherwise sharp start.

He then threw a center-cut 88-mph cutter to Royals catcher Salvador Perez, and the eight-time All-Star just missed parking it over the left-field wall at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium. Manager Brandon Hyde pulled his starter, hoping left-hander Keegan Akin could get one out, strand the two runners and maintain the Orioles’ one-run deficit.

Instead, the Royals’ scrappy lineup tattooed Akin, scoring five more runs in the frame as the reliever allowed the first four batters he faced to reach base on two singles, a walk and a double. Adley Rutschman did his best to bring his team back by hitting his first career grand slam, but reliever Dillon Tate surrendered a three-run homer in the seventh and Baltimore’s offense couldn’t muster another rally in a 9-4 loss to the Royals.

The defeat ends Baltimore’s four-game winning streak after avoiding its first regular-season sweep since May 2022 on Sunday and then sweeping the Minnesota Twins earlier this week. It also ended the club’s streak of three-homer games at five — one short of tying the MLB record set by the 1987 Orioles.

Kremer (0-2) only allowed two hits, but he was charged with three runs, two of which scored on Akin’s watch. Akin and Tate combined to give up seven hits and six runs in one of Baltimore’s worst bullpen performances this season. The Orioles (12-7) entered Friday with the 10th-best bullpen ERA in MLB at 3.36 — and the relief corps was even better in pivotal metrics such as strikeout and walk rate, ranking in the top five in both categories.

Rutschman was Baltimore’s lone hitter with more than one knock, as the All-Star catcher went 3 for 4 with his big fly in the seventh. After the Royals (13-7) knocked around Akin to go up 6-0, the Orioles immediately made a comeback attempt. Cedric Mullins extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single, Austin Hays lined a single amid his early season slump and Jordan Westburg followed suit to load the bases.

After Ramon Urías popped out and Gunnar Henderson struck out, Rutschman blasted a right-handed homer 398 feet to left field off left-hander Will Smith for a long ball that would’ve been gone at every MLB stadium except Camden Yards.

Around the horn

— Right-hander Kyle Bradish (sprained ulnar collateral ligament) will make his second minor league rehabilitation start Sunday for Triple-A Norfolk in Jacksonville, manager Brandon Hyde said before Friday’s game. Bradish, who suffered the partially torn elbow ligament in January and received platelet-rich plasma injections to expedite the recovery, pitched three scoreless innings, facing just 10 batters and striking out four in his first rehab start Tuesday for Double-A Bowie. If Bradish remains healthy, he is expected to return sometime in early-to-mid May.

— Left-hander John Means, who began his throwing progression this spring a month later than he normally would to fully recover from his elbow flare-up in October, still needs to be stretched out to start games for the Orioles, Hyde said. Means, who allowed five runs and recorded just one out Wednesday in his fourth rehab start, struggled with his command, Hyde said, but still showed “pretty good” stuff. The veteran southpaw’s longest outing was three innings and 61 pitches April 11. “Yeah, definitely. If we’re going to put him back in the rotation, we need him to be stretched out more than that,” Hyde said. If he remains healthy, Means’ rehab assignment cannot extend past April 29.

— Right-hander Tyler Wells (elbow inflammation) is with the team in Kansas City after being placed on the 15-day injured list earlier this week. Hyde said the hope is Wells will “be back soon,” as his injury is simply inflammation in the elbow with no structural damage.

— Catcher David Bañuelos cleared waivers and was assigned to Norfolk, the Orioles announced Friday afternoon. He made his MLB debut Tuesday on his lone day on the Orioles’ roster. Livan Soto, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, was claimed by the Cincinnati Reds.

— Outfield prospect Heston Kjerstad hit two home runs for the Tides on Friday — his third multi-homer game of the season — to bring his total to 10 in only 19 games.