Orioles recall Kremer to start against Indians; Franco, Hays out of lineup; Mullins getting All-Star votes

The Orioles recalled right-hander Dean Kremer from Triple-A Norfolk to start Monday night’s game against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.

Kremer, who was sent to Norfolk for the second time this season after his start at Minnesota on May 26th, made two starts for the Tides. The last came on June 8th when he allowed three runs on one hit in 4 2/3 innings, walking three and striking out seven.

“He made a couple of starts down there,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He threw the ball fairly well, wanted him to work on command, fastball command, continue to develop that good changeup that he’s got. We want him to throw it more. He did that. It sounds like things went well down there. He’s back up here to make a start for us tonight.”

This will be the first time Hyde has had three rookies — Kremer, Keegan Akin and Bruce Zimmermann — in the starting rotation.

“They’re three starters in our rotation that don’t have a lot of major league starts,” Hyde said.

This will be Kremer’s 14^th start. Akin has nine and Zimmermann 12.

“They’re going to be facing some teams that they’ve never faced before, major league hitters that they’ve never seen,” Hyde said. “All three guys can give another team a different look. They’re all a lot different. We believe in all three of them. They’re getting valuable major league experience up here, really, really young in their careers.

“We’re very high on all three, and looking forward to watching them pitch.”

Kremer began his major league career by facing the New York Yankees in three of his first five, and five of his first 11 starts.

“That’s not the easiest thing to do,” Hyde said. “To be able to face other clubs around the league and see what else is out there, I think is important.”

No Hays or Franco: Outfielder Austin Hays and third baseman Maikel Franco are not in the starting lineup. Hays is hitless in his last 12 at-bats, and Franco in his last 10.

Hays, who returned from a stint on the 10-day injured list because of a strained right hamstring on Friday, is 0-for-10 since he returned.

“Just giving those guys a day today,” Hyde said.

Mullins near All-Star leaders: Cedric Mullins is 10^th among American League outfielders in the first results of fan voting for the All-Star Game, which will be held on July 13 in Denver’s Coors Field.

Mullins has 145,537 votes, about 20,000 votes behind Houston’s Michael Brantley.

The top nine outfielders will move on to Phase 2 in voting. Phase 1 concludes on Thursday June 24th at 4 p.m. The top three at other positions advance as well.

Trey Mancini in fifth among American League first basemen and Freddy Galvis is ninth among shortstops.

Fans can vote five times per day at MLB.com during Phase 1.

Scott confident: Since reliever Tanner Scott first joined the Orioles in September 2017, he has seen many more losses than wins.

“Any time you lose, it’s always tough,” Scott said. “We go out there and compete. In a close game, it’s like, ‘we almost had ‘em.’ We’re going to turn it around. We’re going to keep competing. We’re going to have some wins, for sure.”

Minor Matters: Left-handed pitcher Kevin Smith, who was acquired from the New York Mets in the trade for reliever Miguel Castro last August, has been promoted from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk.

Smith was 0-1 with a 1.04 ERA in six games at Bowie. He struck out 37 and walked 10 in 26 innings.

Infielder Greg Cullen, who was acquired in the trade with Atlanta for left-handed pitcher Tommy Milone, was promoted from Low-A Delmarva to Bowie. Cullen hit .281 with an RBI in 10 games for the Shorebirds.

Infielder Jean Carmona, who was acquired on July 31, 2018 from Milwaukee in the trade for second baseman Jonathan Schoop, was added to the Delmarva roster. Carmona hasn’t played since 2019 when he hit .224 in 25 games with Short Season-A Aberdeen.

Outfielder Yusniel Diaz, who has been out because of a leg injury, will be rehabbing with Bowie this week. Catcher Nick Ciuffo, who has yet to play this season because of a hand injury, joins Norfolk on Tuesday.

Covid vaccines at the ballpark: The Orioles, along with Major League Baseball and the Maryland Department of Health, will offer Covid vaccines during the next homestand, which begins Friday.

All fans 18 and over who get vaccinated will receive two complimentary lower-level tickets for any game through July 11th.

Vaccinations will be administered at Dempsey’s Brew Pub and Restaurant on Eutaw Street. Fans should enter on the non-ballpark side of the Warehouse.