Rookie pitcher Trey Gibson warmed tonight to Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold,” which is how he wanted to make the White Sox feel for the duration of his eighth major league appearance.

Three batters into the game, he was down by a run. He also loaded the bases with his third walk of the inning.

Colson Montgomery broke a tie in the third with a 440-foot, two-run homer, the ball landing on Eutaw Street. Two more walks ran Gibson’s total to five, a bloop single loaded the bases, Jacob Gonzalez followed with a two-run single and Junior Perez belted a three-run homer. Seven batters in a row reached before Gibson recorded his first out and 10 came to the plate before manager Craig Albernaz removed him.

This wasn’t going to be his night to control a lineup.

Gibson turned in his shortest start, allowing eight runs in 2 2/3 innings in the Orioles’ 9-3 loss to the White Sox before an announced crowd of 17,581 at Camden Yards. He gave up seven hits, walked six and struck out five – all of it in 78 pitches.

The Orioles are a season-worst nine games below .500 at 39-48 and in danger of being swept before the off-day.

“There’s three months left,” Albernaz said, explaining why he’s confident the Orioles will be all right. “When you play every day and you’re not playing your best baseball, it seems like a daunting task. And that’s why you have to take each day at a time and attack each day, go out there, compete, be prepared, because when you look up, you don’t know what’s going to happen.

“The easiest thing to do is to throw in a towel and concede, and that’s something that our guys don’t have in that clubhouse. They’re fighting, competing every single day, and we just need to string together to some good innings of baseball. We’ve shown that we can do it, and now it’s actually going out there and doing it consistently.”

Montgomery demolished a slider from Gibson, who had struck out two and stranded a runner in the second inning. Montgomery’s ball is the 137th to reach Eutaw Street and the third by a White Sox player.

Perez drove a first-pitch curveball 409 feet to center field for an 8-1 lead. Gibson retired the next two batters, walked another and headed to the dugout.

We’ll find out later when he returns to the mound.

Dean Kremer could be reinstated from the injured list to make Wednesday afternoon’s start, and Gibson is an obvious candidate to be optioned. He’s had some impressive moments and shown quality stuff, the kind that bring optimism for future success, but his ERA is 7.36 in 33 innings and more time in Triple-A would further his development.

“Just reminded him how he goes out and competes, right?” Albernaz replied when asked what he said to Gibson. “He stepped up. He didn’t have his best stuff, didn’t have his best command, obviously, with the six walks, but he didn’t give up. He kept on going out there and he was just trying to get outs, and there was no … did not concede at all. And that’s something where, days like this are gonna happen, especially for young pitchers.

“Sometimes it’s tough to realize that, but the way he went out and still competed, it’s something that he should hang his hat on. This is a tough league. He’s had some good starts, and he had a start tonight. That’s all a great learning experience for him and he’ll be better for it moving forward.”

Gibson became the first Orioles starter to surrender eight runs since Trevor Rogers on May 18 in St. Petersburg, and the first to allow eight or more in less than three innings since Cade Povich on July 6, 2024 in Oakland.

“I think just not finding the strike zone,” Gibson said. “I’d throw a ball, and then I’d feel like the next step in my head, I’d kind of try and make the adjustment, and the adjustment is just too big. I’m just kind of bouncing back and forth (between) those lines.

“I think that’s just body control, being in control of my body on top of the rubber. … I truly believe that I have the stuff to compete in the big leagues, but I think the biggest thing is getting in the strike zone.”

Albernaz said he left Gibson in the game in the third inning because the rookie was competing and the bullpen was running on fumes.

“We needed the coverage in the innings,” he said.

Andrew Benintendi made Gibson pay for a leadoff walk to Kyle Teel in the first inning with a one-out RBI double down the right field line. The ball disappeared in the corner and Leody Taveras struggled to retrieve it. Gibson issued back-to-back walks with two outs, but Tristan Peters swung at the first pitch and grounded out.

The 24-pitch inning included a pair of strikeouts.

Gonzalez had a run-scoring double off Josh Walker in the fourth. Walker has made back-to-back appearances since the Orioles recalled him yesterday.

Gunnar Henderson followed last night’s two-hit game with a leadoff single off Erick Fedde in the bottom of the first, and he scored the tying run with two outs when Pete Alonso walked and Samuel Basallo lined a first-pitch cutter into right field. Basallo has seven RBIs in his last eight games.

Henderson doubled in the fifth for another two-hit night and scored on Dylan Beavers’ double. Alonso singled to reduce the lead to 9-3.

Albert Suárez restored order with three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and lowering his ERA to 3.63. White Sox rookie left-hander Tyler Schweitzer earned the save with four scoreless innings. He totaled four major league innings before tonight.

“Al is the unsung hero of this team the way he can post for us, be efficient, eat up innings, save the bullpen,” Albernaz said. “It’s been outstanding. He’s been fun to watch.”

The Orioles can be at times but the season is getting away from them.

“Need to come up and be ready to compete and play hard and take the opportunity in front of us,” Albernaz said. “Tomorrow is a big game. Like you just don’t know, one, just to get back on the right side of the win/loss column, get back in the win column, and also, you don’t know how the season’s going to shake out. Tie-breaker game tomorrow with the White Sox. They’re in it. And also for us, we’ve got to go out here and compete.

“That’s the biggest thing. And our guys showed some of that tonight, but also, they didn’t, as well. The guys had good at-bats, but we just couldn’t score more runs than the other team.”

A loss Wednesday would match the 2025 record after 88 games.

“I mean honestly just playing better,” Alonso said when asked how to turn around the season. “We’ve got to execute. I mean tonight they put us away early. They did a great job offensively and pitching side of the ball. Tonight was their night all the way around in facets of the game. … It’s just the game execution. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to take accountability as a group and this is 100 percent on us as players. We’ve just got to do a better job.”

Scoring change

Jeremiah Jackson has been given an error for his flip to first base in the 10th inning of Wednesday’s game in Anaheim.

Nolan Schanuel reached on what was ruled a missed catch by Keegan Akin. Schanuel now is awarded an RBI single, with a throwing error on Jackson.

Schanuel raced to third base and scored the winning run, which remains unearned.

Down on the farm

Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Jud Fabian went on the seven-day concussion injured list. Fabian was batting .201/.340/.369 with three doubles, 11 home runs, 36 RBIs, 44 walks and 80 strikeouts in 69 games.

Catcher Johnny Tincher was released from Norfolk’s roster.

Yaramil Hiraldo made his first injury rehab appearance tonight with High-A Frederick and surrendered a solo home run in the sixth inning. Hiraldo broke camp with the Orioles and appeared in three games, allowing four runs in 1 2/3 innings before going on the IL with right shoulder inflammation.

Caden Hunter tossed five scoreless innings with no walks and six strikeouts to lower his ERA to 1.71.

Right-hander Sayer Diederich was released from Frederick’s roster.

Infielder Cobb Hightower was reinstated from Single-A Delmarva’s injured list.

Shorebirds pitcher Esteban Mejia, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 6 prospect in the system, was placed on development list earlier today.

Mejia, 19, was 0-5 with an 8.08 ERA and 2.220 WHIP in 15 appearances, and he walked 57 batters in 42 1/3 innings. The change in status enables him to work on a specialized throwing program without pitching in games. He’ll stay in Delmarva.

Florida Complex League pitcher Harlin Naut underwent reconstructive ulnar collateral ligament surgery on his right elbow with Dr. Leigh Ann Curl in Baltimore.