ANAHEIM -- Prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Angels at Angel Stadium, manager Derek Shelton identified two objectives for Dean Kremer in order to finish an uneven 2026 campaign on a high note.
“Continue to go out and use his split effectively. I think we’ve seen it really good, we’ve seen it inconsistent,” Shelton said. “Throw strikes and attack. He has the ability to attack guys, and I think that’s the one thing that hopefully he builds on in these last two starts.”
Kremer accomplished both those goals as he led the Twins to a commanding 8-0 win to split the series and hand the Halos a loss in their final home game of 2026.
The 30-year-old right-hander held the Angels to one hit over six sharp innings, striking out eight -- two on the splitter -- while walking three and hitting one batter. He generated 16 whiffs and threw 13 of his 19 splitters for strikes. He attacked the Halos’ lineup from the opening frame, throwing 17 first-pitch strikes out of 22 batters faced (77.3%) -- including to his first eight -- for his second-highest clip this season.
It’s been an up-and-down year for Kremer, who began the season in Triple-A after an unexpected demotion by the Orioles during Spring Training. Then shortly after Baltimore recalled him in mid-April, Kremer hit the injured list with a right quad strain that sidelined him for more than two months.
A month after that, the Twins acquired Kremer from the Orioles ahead of the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline. He’s now posted a 3.80 ERA across his first nine starts with Minnesota, and a 1.62 over his last three, lowering his season ERA from 6.50 to 4.97 since the trade. With six games remaining on the schedule, he could be in line for one more start during the final homestand against Texas.
Of course, it always helps when your offense puts up eight runs on 13 hits. Brooks Lee, Josh Bell and Alan Roden collected three hits each, with Roden’s three-run homer in the seventh putting the game away.
Bailey Ober, who had been scheduled to start Monday’s series opener in San Francisco, took over in the seventh and earned a three-inning save. It was his first career save -- and his first pro relief outing since rookie ball in 2019.