Dean Kremer did not need months to make his first game against the Baltimore Orioles feel uncomfortable for his former team. Ten days after Baltimore traded him to the Minnesota Twins, the right-hander delivered one of the sharpest outings of his career in a 9-5 victory Monday at Target Field.
The revenge-game hook was obvious. The more important development was less emotional: Kremer looked different, and the Orioles knew it before he threw his first pitch.
Kremer Turns a Familiar Matchup Into a Mismatch
Kremer held Baltimore to one run on one hit and one walk across seven innings. He struck out seven, threw 60 of 89 pitches for strikes, and retired 20 of the 22 hitters he faced, including the final 10.
Jackson Holliday’s fourth-inning infield single was the Orioles’ only hit. Gunnar Henderson scored during a delayed double-steal attempt, but Baltimore otherwise produced no baserunners in Kremer’s other six innings.
The performance marked the first time in Kremer’s major-league career that he allowed fewer than two hits while completing at least seven innings. He also generated 14 swinging strikes, his highest total since April.
The outing also made him the first Twins starter since Bailey Ober in September 2024 to meet those seven-inning, one-hit, and one-run thresholds.
Kremer admitted there was extra motivation because his close friends and former teammates knew him so well. That familiarity appeared to favor Baltimore. Instead, it made his adjustments more meaningful.
Orioles manager Craig Albernaz noticed a higher glove side and release point. Baltimore also anticipated that Kremer would feature more four-seam fastballs, a change he displayed in his Twins debut against Kansas City. The Orioles prepared for those wrinkles but still could not square him up.
Kremer mixed six pitches and used his four-seamer more frequently than he had earlier this season. He also credited the beginning of additional work with Minnesota’s pitching-development group, suggesting the new organization is already reshaping his plan.
Why the Outing Changes the Trade Conversation
GettyDean Kremer #13 of the Minnesota Twins pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning of the game at Target Field on August 10, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Baltimore dealt Kremer after an injury-interrupted stretch in which he posted a 6.50 ERA over seven starts. That version looked expendable. The Minnesota pitcher has allowed two runs over 12 innings in two starts.
The Twins needed the performance after a 3-6 road trip and with ace Joe Ryan sidelined by a left glute strain. Kremer provided both the length and proof that their deadline addition could exceed rotation depth.
For the Orioles, the timing was painful. Their offense had scored only 11 runs over its first seven August games before breaking out Sunday, then managed almost nothing against a pitcher it knew intimately.
Kremer did not celebrate the result as a personal statement. He emphasized execution and competition. The statement emerged anyway: the pitcher Baltimore traded may already be evolving, and his former club received the first close look at what changed.
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