The Orioles needed a spark. Dean Kremer needed a lead. Jackson Holliday just needed a hit.

The 21-year-old Holliday achieved all three with his big swing in the second inning Wednesday night.

Holliday broke out of his 0-for-17 slump by blasting a grand slam that breathed life into a listless lineup, brought a frustrated fan base at Camden Yards to its feet and propelled the Orioles to a 9-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians.

“It’s always fun to hit a home run and score a bunch of runs as a team,” Holliday said. “I think it was really good for us. … We played really well as a team tonight.”

The youngster stayed back on a 1-0 sweeper — thanks to the new toe tap in his swing — and hammered the pitch from righty Gavin Williams 396 feet to left-center field, landing in Baltimore’s bullpen. Holliday is the youngest player in Orioles history with two career grand slams, surpassing the great Cal Ripken Jr., who was 22 when he achieved the feat.

Holliday has hit seven home runs in his nascent big league career, but he’s already proved his penchant for grand slams. His slam Wednesday was the second of his career. The first came July 31 — a big fly that landed on Eutaw Street — for the first homer of Holliday’s career.

Wednesday’s long ball marked Holliday’s first hit since April 5. When the Orioles departed Kansas City earlier this month, Holliday appeared back on track after his disappointing rookie season. He was hitting .333 with an .888 OPS. But after his skid, Holliday’s numbers were down to a .213 average and a .570 OPS. Manager Brandon Hyde gave Holliday the day off Tuesday against a left-handed starter, allowing Holliday to reset before returning to the starting lineup Wednesday and making a splash.

“It’s a beautiful thing when he’s in the middle of the field, line drives,” Hyde said. “That was a huge hit for us at the time.”

The slam also proved the power of puppy love. Holliday’s wife, Chloe, and their dog, Coconut, were in attendance Wednesday for Bark at the Park night at Oriole Park. Holliday said during the postgame interview on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network that he always plays well when Coconut is watching.“Thanks, Coconut,” Holliday said with a smile.

But who did he hit the slam for? The team, or his good boy Coconut?

“Just for Coconut. Not the team, just Coconut,” Holliday joked.

To set up Holliday, Cedric Mullins walked, Ryan Mountcastle singled and Ramón Urías walked to load the bases, and the Orioles’ youngest player delivered one of the biggest hits of the season.

The Guardians (9-8) responded in the next inning with Gabriel Arias’ solo homer, but that was one of the only hard-hit balls off Kremer. The right-hander twirled his best start of the season, allowing just the one run in 5 1/3 innings to reinvigorate the rotation.

Bryan Baker relieved Kremer with one out in the sixth, and it appeared as if another defensive miscue would derail this game. A popup down the left field line fell in between Ramón Laureano, Gunnar Henderson and Urías to bring the tying run to the plate. But a web gem from an unlikely defender saved the Orioles and Baker, as Heston Kjerstad made a sliding catch in right-center field to end the inning. Kjerstad, whose defense is far from his calling card, showed off his plus speed to make a grab in which Statcast gave a 60% catch probability.

“Huge play, probably the play of the game,” Hyde said.

“Anytime you make a web gem play like that, that’s what you play the game for,” Kjerstad said. “That’s a lot of fun to be able to make a play like that for the team, help us win the game.”

Gregory Soto, Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin finished out the game on the mound, with Cano escaping a first-and-third, no-out jam in the eighth thanks to an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play.

Laureano — starting in place of Tyler O’Neill, who was scratched from the lineup pregame with neck discomfort — homered down the left field line in the seventh, and Ryan O’Hearn followed with one down the opposite line in the eighth. Kjerstad drove in two runs with a single in the eighth, and Urías capped off the game’s scoring with a sacrifice fly.

But it was Holliday’s early clutch hit that the Orioles’ offense so badly needed. The group has been marred by inconsistency to begin the season, resulting in the ballclub’s 6-10 record entering the game.

“Our offense is better than what we’ve shown so far,” Hyde said pregame.

For at least one night, Holliday — and then his teammates — proved that true.

Postgame analysis

It would be silly to say a contest on April 16 constitutes a “big game.” But it felt that way amid the Orioles’ torpid opening month.

Whether it was a “big game” or not, Kremer certainly pitched like it was, and he delivered exactly what the Orioles (7-10) needed, what Baltimore’s rotation needed and what Kremer himself needed. The 29-year-old was in command throughout his outing — limiting hard contact and commanding his five-pitch mix against the contact-oriented Guardians.

“I thought he competed extremely well tonight,” Hyde said. “Best start of the year for him.”

Baltimore entered Wednesday with easily the worst rotation ERA in MLB at 5.54 — the only club above 5.00. Kremer came into his fourth start of the season with an 8.16 ERA. That paired with an inconsistent offense is why the Orioles are off to a sluggish start.

But with more staggering slams from hitters like Holliday and sound starts from pitchers like Kremer, the Orioles might just be able to get out of this rut.

What they’re saying

Jackson Holliday on the Orioles’ strange start to the season:

“I think a little up and down, I’d say. We’ve shown some signs of being a super awesome team and playing really well together and our offense really playing well, and we’ve struggled at the same time. But overall, I think we’ve taken good at-bats and hit the ball hard, and sometimes, you just hit it at people. So I don’t really know how to gauge it on just [17] games, or however many we’ve played, but I think we’re fine. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. I think we’re hitting the ball hard, and I think it’ll come.”

By the numbers

Kjerstad’s web gem didn’t just prevent a few runs from scoring; it maintained Baker’s impressive relief streak to begin the season. Baker, the last pitcher to make the Orioles’ opening day roster, has inherited seven runners this season, and none of them have scored. Baker, who pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings Wednesday, has a sparkling 1.04 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings to begin what’s shaping up to be a resurgent campaign.

On deck

The Orioles have the chance to do something Thursday that they haven’t done all season: win a series.

Orioles right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano will start the rubber match opposite Guardians ace Tanner Bibee. The start to Sugano’s MLB career has been solid, as the Japanese superstar has posted a 3.86 ERA in three starts, but he’s struggled to pitch deep into games.

Around the horn

Starting pitcher Zach Eflin played catch off flat ground Wednesday for the first time since injuring his lat muscle last week. Eflin, who is on the 15-day injured list, hopes he can return to the rotation soon. “I’m not interested in missing a lot of time,” he said.

Corner infield prospect Coby Mayo homered again for Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday. Since starting the season 3-for-24 at the plate, Mayo has been crushing the ball with a .344 average and 1.186 OPS.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.