Dean Kremer supplied a stellar pitching performance for the Baltimore Orioles in their 6-0 victory over the visiting Houston Astros on Friday night.

Kremer threw a four-hit complete game with six strikeouts and two walks. He has pitched for three seasons and had never thrown more than eight innings in a start until Friday.

It was the third sterling effort from the mound in as many nights for the Orioles, who received a complete game from Jordan Lyles vs. Detroit Wednesday and then 8 2/3 shutout innings from Kyle Bradish Thursday in the Astros’ series opener.

Adley Rutschman homered and drilled a run-scoring double as part of a 3-for-3 outing and Cedric Mullins drove in two runs for the Orioles (79-71), who’ve won three consecutive games.

Houston (99-53) lost for the third time in 13 games. The Astros haven’t scored in consecutive games since sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays.

Astros starter Jose Urquidy (13-8) gave up one run in 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts and a walk.

Kremer was in a tight game until Baltimore put up five runs in the seventh inning to stretch what had been a 1-0 lead.

Rutschman, a rookie catcher who singled in the first, notched his 12th homer of the season to lead off the bottom of the fourth. He had Baltimore’s only two hits through five innings.

The Orioles began the seventh with three consecutive singles, with Terrin Vavra’s hit knocking in a run. After a sacrifice bunt and error, Mullins produced a two-run single before Rutschman’s two-out RBI double followed by Ryan Mountcastle’s run-producing single.

The Astros had second baseman Jose Altuve back in the lineup after he missed Thursday night’s game with a sore left elbow. He was hit by a pitch Wednesday night at Tampa Bay. He went 2-for-4 with a double and a ninth-inning single.

Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, who had a single, drew both of the team’s walks.

–Field Level Media