The Baltimore Orioles have pulled out victories in the first three games of a series with the Chicago White Sox and go for the road sweep Sunday afternoon.
The outcomes have been uplifting for the Orioles and equally frustrating for the White Sox.
“We know we have a shot any time,” Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg said after the team erased a three-run deficit Saturday. “We’re just trying to chip away.”
On Friday and Saturday, Baltimore rallied to go ahead in the eighth inning. The series began with Thursday night’s controversial ending that thwarted Chicago’s ninth-inning comeback hopes.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said he likes how Baltimore has bounced back from rough patches in games and then turned it on.
“That game offensively for us sucked for seven (innings),” Hyde said Saturday. “It was great to see us swing the bats that (eighth) inning.”
The Orioles have home run hitters up and down the lineup, so getting three homers in the eighth inning Saturday didn’t seem all that strange even for a team that had just three singles through seven innings.
“Baseball is funny that way,” Westburg said. “The offense stays resilient. No matter what the score is, we think we have a shot. We’re going to keep trying.”
The Orioles have followed their only three-game skid this year with the success in Chicago.
The White Sox are trying to avoid being swept in a series for the second time in a three-series span after losing all three games to the New York Yankees from May 17 to May 19 in New York.
The bullpen came up short in the latest loss.
“A tough one,” said Michael Kopech, after he gave up three runs and recorded only two outs in the eighth inning. “Yeah, I’ve got to wear that one for a little bit.”
Baltimore will have right-hander Kyle Bradish (0-0, 2.41 ERA) as Sunday’s starter. Since coming off the injured list at the beginning of May for his season debut, Bradish has been solid. He hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his four starts this season and had better control Tuesday at St. Louis, issuing only one walk and striking out six in five innings.
Bradish has never faced the White Sox in his partial three seasons in the major leagues.
The Orioles have had an evolving situation with the closer spot, and Cionel Perez filled that role Saturday for his first save of the year.
“It was lights-out stuff,” Hyde said.
The White Sox have left-hander Garrett Crochet (5-4, 3.75), who’s riding a 19-inning scoreless streak, lined up for his 12th start of the season. He’s going for a perfect May after racking up a 4-0 mark across his past four starts, with three of those lasting six innings.
The success for Crochet has come after the White Sox had a five-game losing streak in games he started. In his four-year career, Crochet has made two relief appearances, covering two innings, against the Orioles without giving up a run.
White Sox first baseman Gavin Sheets has driven in five runs in the series. Chicago third baseman Bryan Ramos, who had been out with a quad strain, came off the injured list Saturday and went 0-for-4 in his first game since May 14.
–Field Level Media