Mountcastle, O’Hearn homer from 9th spot as Orioles beat Angels 7-3
By NOAH TRISTER
AP Baseball Writer
BALTIMORE (AP) — Ryan Mountcastle was out of the starting lineup for Baltimore, although manager Brandon Hyde said he’d probably play.
That move came earlier than expected.
Mountcastle entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the fourth inning and doubled, then he hit a two-run homer in the sixth to help the Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 on Tuesday night.
“I wasn’t anticipating (using) Mounty that early in the game,” Hyde said. “A couple things happened, that I felt that was the right spot to use him there.”
Dean Kremer (5-1) rebounded after allowing a homer to lead off the game, winning his third straight start, and Ryan O’Hearn also homered for Baltimore. O’Hearn started as the Orioles’ designated hitter in the No. 9 spot in the batting order, but after his solo shot in the second tied the game at 1, Mountcastle pinch-hit for him after the Angels lifted right-hander Chase Silseth (0-1) in the fourth and replaced him with lefty Tucker Davidson.
“We got a lot of production out of the No. 9 spot today,” Hyde said. “Not by design, to be honest with you.”
Mountcastle greeted Davidson with a double that left men on second and third, and Cedric Mullins followed with an RBI grounder that made it 4-1 and capped Baltimore’s three-run inning.
“I saw their guy’s pitch count was going up,” Mountcastle said. “They were bringing a lefty out of the pen, and it was a close game. So I wasn’t super surprised.”
After the Angels pulled within one, the Orioles scored three more runs in the sixth on Jorge Mateo’s sacrifice fly and Mountcastle’s two-run shot — his first homer since May 2. He has nine on the season.
Mickey Moniak homered to start the top of the first, but O’Hearn answered for the Orioles. Baltimore chased Silseth when Tarrin Vavra and Mateo hit RBI singles in the fourth.
Kremer started the season poorly, but has allowed only four runs in 17 2/3 innings over his last three starts against Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles. He threw 31 pitches in the first inning Tuesday but was still able to make it into the sixth.
“Struggled through the first and kind of escaped it,” Kremer said. “Then tried to eat as many innings as I could after that.”
Zach Neto hit an RBI single for the Angels in the fifth and Gio Urshela added one in the sixth.
Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout each went 0 for 4 after Ohtani reached base five times a night earlier.
Despite not starting the game, Mountcastle was the only Baltimore player with multiple hits.
SLUMPING
Mateo might have been Baltimore’s best player for the first month of the season, but he’s 5 for 43 at the plate in May. He did contribute with his run-scoring single and sacrifice fly Tuesday.
BACK IN BALTIMORE
The Orioles recalled left-hander Cole Irvin from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned right-hander Logan Gillaspie to Norfolk. Irvin, acquired from Oakland in the offseason, was in the Baltimore rotation to begin the season before being sent to the minors. Hyde said he’s back to provide long relief.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: Davidson exited after he was hit around the left foot by Ryan McKenna’s comebacker in the sixth. The ball bounced into left field for a double.
UP NEXT
Kyle Bradish (1-1) takes the mound for Baltimore against Griffin Canning (2-1) of the Angels on Wednesday night.
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Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister
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