The Orioles handed out bowling shirts today to the first 15,000 fans. Zach Eflin didn’t spare the White Sox, but when would the offense strike?
It took until the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Orioles loaded the bases with no outs and scored twice on a sacrifice fly and double steal. They didn’t offer much support and little was needed.
Eflin shut out the White Sox over seven innings and the Orioles began the series with a 2-1 win before an announced crowd of 22,108 at Camden Yards.
Félix Bautista surrendered two doubles in the ninth inning, the second by Andrew Benintendi with two outs. Luis Robert Jr. walked with the count full in an eight-pitch at-bat before Bautista nailed down his ninth save.
The game time was bumped up 2 ½ hours due to a pending storm and flood warnings. At its conclusion, the Orioles had improved their record to 20-36 and the White Sox fell to 18-39 overall and 6-24 on the road.
Adley Rutschman led off the sixth inning with a single and Gunnar Henderson lined a double down the left field line for his 400th career hit. He’s the sixth Orioles player to reach the mark before his 24th birthday, along with Manny Machado, Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken Jr., Brooks Robinson and Boog Powell.
Rutschman and Henderson were a combined 0-for-10 in Wednesday’s loss to the Cardinals.
Ryan Mountcastle reached on an infield hit, and Ramón Urías’ fly ball to right with one out broke the scoreless tie. Mountcastle increased the lead to 2-0 on the back end of a double steal with Ryan O’Hearn, the first Oriole to swipe home since Cedric Mullins on Aug. 12, 2021 against the Tigers.
Mountcastle came out of the game in the top of the eighth with right hamstring discomfort. O’Hearn moved from right field to first base and Cooper Hummel went to right, becoming the 45th player used by the Orioles this season.
Eflin held the White Sox to four hits and struck out six batters in seven scoreless innings. He fanned Robert and Joshua Palacios in the seventh, leaving his pitch count at 99, after Miguel Vargas singled with one out and Benintendi drew the only walk against Eflin.
Eflin retired 14 of the first 15 batters. Lenyn Sosa singled with one out in the third inning and Josh Rojas hit into a 1-6-3 double play. Eflin threw five pitches in the third and 11 in the fourth.
Edgar Quero and Sosa began the sixth with singles. Quero got caught in a rundown when Rutschman tried to pick him off second base – the official ruling is a caught stealing – and Eflin escaped.
The White Sox listed right-hander Sean Burke as their starter but switched to lefty Jaren Shuster as an opener. Shuster hit Jackson Holliday with his first pitch but retired the next three batters in a 17-pitch inning. Holliday was stranded on third base.
Burke was warming in the bullpen but Shuster returned for the second inning, gave up a leadoff single to O’Hearn and departed. He hadn’t gone more than 2 1/3 in his 10 relief appearances.
O’Hearn has reached base in a career-best 16 games in a row and 29 of 30.
The leadoff hitter reached in each of the first three innings but the game remained scoreless. Holliday grounded into a 3-6-3 double play in the third. Mountcastle singled with one out in the fourth and was stranded. Dylan Carlson walked with two outs in the fifth and Holliday struck out.
The Orioles finally broke through an inning later and they held on, missing by an out of their second shutout after Bryan Baker retired the side in order in the eighth.