Orioles, Gunnar Henderson rally late to beat White Sox, 4-2
Published in Baseball
CHICAGO — Between the cold, the shadows and the dozen base runners stranded through the first seven innings, the Orioles’ lineup couldn’t break through. Runs have been difficult to come by under any conditions thus far this season, but the Orioles were in the midst of perhaps their most frustrating offensive performance to date.
Then it finally happened.
Back-to-back doubles by Blaze Alexander and Taylor Ward tied the game in the eighth, and Gunnar Henderson launched a two-run home run the next at-bat to put the Orioles in front as they completed the comeback to beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-2, on Tuesday afternoon. The victory ensured the Orioles (5-6) would win the series and put them in position for a sweep on Wednesday that would push their record back up to .500.
In a game that was moved up to the afternoon to avoid freezing temperatures, the first-pitch temperature of 36 degrees was tied for the Orioles’ third-lowest on record and their coldest for any game since April 18, 2018, in Detroit. The timing and clear skies on Tuesday resulted in large shadows cast over the infield by the upper deck at Rate Field, creating a pitcher-friendly environment.
Baltimore’s ace continued to pitch like one as Trevor Rogers went six innings with two runs allowed, bringing his ERA to 1.89 on the young season. The left-hander struck out six, walked none and scattered six hits. His pitches were so deceptive that he struck out Andrew Benintendi on a sinker that hit the left fielder in the arm.
Rogers has gone at least six innings and allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his first three starts to begin the season, joining Dylan Bundy (2018) as the only Orioles starters to do so over the past 20 years.
White Sox starter Shane Smith was even more unhittable early. He didn’t allow a ball in play until the third inning, but the Orioles worked several deep counts, drawing five walks and forcing Smith out of the game after 3 2/3 innings because of his pitch count (99).
Still, the Orioles couldn’t come through with runners in scoring position. They loaded the bases twice in the first four innings, and both times left all three men aboard. It took a big gamble by manager Craig Albernaz in the fifth just to scrape their first run across.
Albernaz emptied his bench by pinch hitting both Tyler O’Neill and Ryan Mountcastle against left-hander Sean Newcomb, and they each put the ball in play to help Samuel Basallo come around to score.
The White Sox scored both of their runs in the third behind three straight base hits off Rogers. All three hits registered exit velocities below 90 mph, but they went down in the scorebook as an RBI double and RBI single for second baseman Chase Meidroth and first baseman Lenyn Sosa, respectively.
Yennier Cano took over for Rogers in the seventh and tossed a perfect frame. Grant Wolfram and Anthony Nunez then combined to keep the White Sox off the board in the eighth before Albernaz handed the ball back over to closer Ryan Helsley, who nearly blew his save opportunity Monday in the Orioles’ 2-1 win to open the series. He walked leadoff batter Dustin Harris before retiring the next three batters, including two strikeouts, to close out the win.
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