To be saddled with the loss after a performance such as this is nothing if not unfair, but at this point in the season, the way Dean Kremer tore through a hot Seattle Mariners lineup will carry more weight than the final result.

Baltimore lost Tuesday night, 1-0, because the Orioles flailed helplessly against Mariners right-hander George Kirby en route to their 13th shutout defeat of the season.

Apart from a hustle double for Gunnar Henderson and two singles from the rest of the lineup against Kirby, Baltimore was toothless in its effort to help Kremer. And in a back-and-forth between two dueling pitchers, a first-inning run proved the difference.

The duel, with quick breaks before taking the mound again, “helps you stay in rhythm,” Kremer said. He and Kirby mowed down their respective opposing lineups, and Baltimore was especially uneven until the ninth inning.

After a two-out walk for Henderson and a single from Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle nearly supplied the Orioles their first walk-off win of the season. But his fly ball hooked just foul at the last moment, and he later grounded out to end the game.

“It would’ve been nice for it to have stayed fair, but unfortunately it didn’t,” Mountcastle said. Instead, Baltimore was handed another shutout loss.

“Has it been a tough few days? Sure. Do you have to give credit to Kirby? Absolutely,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “He’s pretty good. I just think one through nine we’ve just got to do probably a better job of working some deeper counts and stringing together some at-bats and create a little bit more traffic. But yeah, you’ve got to tip your cap to Kirby a little bit.”

Kirby was exceptional in his seven innings. He struck out seven batters, allowed three hits and walked none. He forced eight groundball outs compared to two fly outs — in a day and age when hitters are attempting to lift the ball with power, Kirby’s sinker-heavy approach forced weak contact on the ground.

But for as impressive as Kirby was, Kremer matched him nearly step for step. Nearly.

Randy Arozarena sent the first of Kremer’s 101 pitches on a line to center field for a single. He stole second and scored on a two-out single from Josh Naylor.

“The two-out hit by Naylor, that’s kind of what won the game,” Mansolino said. “We just didn’t get one. They did.”

That was it. All the other hits against Kremer — all three of them — were scattered around his season-high eight innings. Kremer allowed just that one run on five hits and one walk. He struck out his sixth and final batter, Cole Young, to strand a runner in the eighth inning. And as Kremer strode to the dugout for the final time, the crowd at Camden Yards gave him a well-earned standing ovation.

With the strong outing, Kremer lowered his season ERA to 4.17. Excluding his poor March and April — he tends to be a slow starter — Kremer has a 3.36 ERA since May. And as Baltimore (53-66) looks at how it might manage to become a competitor again in 2026, Kremer appears to be making a strong case for his inclusion in whatever reconfigured rotation there may be.

On a day in which Mansolino announced that right-hander Zach Eflin would miss the remainder of the season due to a lower-back surgery, and a day after right-hander Grayson Rodriguez underwent season-ending elbow debridement surgery, Kremer’s durability is apparent.

He’s on pace to pitch the most innings in a season of his career, and that isn’t lost on him. Kremer often remarks that right-hander Kyle Gibson is an influential figure in his career. Gibson’s propensity for eating innings has a disciple in Kremer.

“My job is to be an innings-eater for this team,” Kremer said. “That’s the guy I want to be known as. I want to be the guy who takes the ball and gives a quality outing every time, regardless of the situation, injuries, no injuries, winning team, losing team. That’s just one of my goals as a pitcher in this league.”

But on Tuesday, no number of innings from Kremer would have turned this loss around — not with the way Kirby matched him.

News and notes

• The Orioles used their 59th and 60th players of the season when outfielder Daniel Johnson and right-hander Rico Garcia debuted Tuesday. The club record for most players used in a season is 62, which was set in 2021.
• Right-hander Albert Suárez (shoulder strain) made his first rehab appearance Tuesday. He allowed four runs on five hits in two innings for Double-A Chesapeake. Mansolino said Suárez will be built up as a reliever, potentially hastening Suárez’s return to Baltimore.
• Right-handers Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells (both recovering from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery) will require additional rehab outings before they are eligible to return. Mansolino surmised Bradish needs two more rehab outings and Wells may have two or three.
• Outfield prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. returned to Double-A Chesapeake from the injured list (hamstring). He was out since July 16.
• Ike Irish, Baltimore’s first-round draft pick, made his debut for Low-A Delmarva and recorded his first hit. The Auburn product, who mostly played catcher and right field in college, made the start at first base. Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, drafted 31st, also debuted with two hits.