BALTIMORE — Baltimore Orioles reliever Burch Smith churned the baseball between his palms as he scanned the base paths. Adley Rustchman peeled off his face mask from behind home plate and watched the big screen replay in dismay. Alex Bregman had just sent a curveball towering over the left field wall. The very next pitch, Yainer Diaz did the same.

The life-sucking, two-pitch sequence broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning. Sunday night’s light showing of 21,654 fans could only boo what proved to decide the Orioles’ 6-3 loss to the Houston Astros. With the loss, Baltimore (76-56) settled for a series split and fell 1 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East.

Smith lasted only one inning of relief, accumulating as many strikeouts as he conceded homers in the seventh. The right-hander has now allowed at least two runs in three of his past four appearances.

While the Orioles’ bullpen secured wins Friday and Saturday, the unit has largely struggled the past several weeks with inconsistency. Trade deadline acquisition Seranthony Domínguez gave up a pair of walk-off homers against the New York Mets last week. Since July 14, Craig Kimbrel’s ERA is a disastrous 8.76. Gregory Soto, another trade acquisition, has had command issues.

Orioles starter Dean Kremer pitched his third consecutive quality start on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball.” He was pulled after six frames, in which he allowed seven hits for three runs, walking two and striking out five. After 3 2/3 hitless innings, the Astros strung together five consecutive two-out hits — four of which were singles — to take a 3-0 lead in the fourth.

Shortstop Jeremy Peña singled to shallow center field. Then Victor Caratini put a similar ball in play that scored Peña as Gunnar Henderson’s throw home was a high and a split-second late. Then Ben Gamel singled. And Zach Dezenzo doubled. “Come on, Dean!” one fan pleaded through a quiet, anxious crowd while pitching coach Drew French visited the mound.

The 28-year-old right-hander has been relatively consistent as of late for a rotation that has been anything but because of injuries or slumps. August hasn’t been kind to Baltimore’s pitching staff, but Kremer has pitched 27 1/3 innings, allowing 24 hits and 14 earned runs with 23 strikeouts, for a 4.60 ERA this month.

Kremer did enough Sunday night, allowing just the three runs while getting through six innings, but Baltimore’s bats did not, tallying a season-low two hits It’s the 12th time this season the Orioles have had three hits or fewer.

Sunday afternoon, offensive strategy coach Cody Asche reflected on this weekend’s upswing from outside the team clubhouse. Friday was Anthony Santander’s turn to play hero on an electrifying go-ahead eighth-inning grand slam. Jackson Holliday made headlines Saturday with his go-ahead bases-clearing triple in the sixth.

“I think what’s really strong about our group is the closer the game is, the later the game is, you know, the best comes out when we need it,” Asche said. “And you’ve seen that through the course of the season, you’ve seen it these last two games. Times were tough late in games, our guys rise to the occasion.”

Ramón Urías did rise to the occasion, knotting the score at 3 with a towering home run into the Orioles’ bullpen in the fifth inning. Designated hitter Eloy Jiménez broke up Astros starter Yusei Kikuchi’s no-hit bid with a single. Emmanuel Rivera walked on seven pitches. Then, Urias brought the crowd to their feet when he deposited a four-seamer 416 feet.

It would be the Orioles’ last hit of the night, one that was overshadowed by the two off Smith.

Around the horn

— Outfielder Daniel Johnson, whom the Orioles signed in January to a minor league contract and has spent the better part of this season in triple-A Norfolk, is in Baltimore as part of the taxi squad.

— First baseman Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) and center fielder Cedric Mullins (quad) were both out of the lineup again Sunday night.

— The Orioles claimed right-hander Brooks Kriske off waivers from the Reds and optioned him to triple-A Norfolk. Nick Vespi has been designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Kriske, 30, has a 3.10 ERA and a whopping 36.7% strikeout rate in triple-A this season.

— Former Orioles prospect Connor Norby is making history in Miami. His six extra-base hits in his first six games set a club record, and on Sunday, he hit his second home run in as many days with a leadoff opposite-field blast.

— Trevor Rogers, who was optioned to triple-A earlier this week after four starts with the Orioles, struggled in his first start with the Tides. He allowed nine hits and 10 runs (all earned) with three walks and a pair of strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

Orioles at Dodgers

Tuesday, 10:10 p.m. ET

____

©2024 The Baltimore Sun. Visit at baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.