BALTIMORE–What happened? The Orioles and Chicago White Sox have the two worst records in the American League. What a difference a season makes.
A year ago, the White Sox set a modern day record with 121 losses, and the Orioles made the playoffs for the second straight season. Chicago is only marginally better than they were a year ago. The Orioles are far worse.
The Orioles (21-36) ended a tumultuous May with a 9-18 record, and a second straight win over the White Sox (18-40). It’s their fourth time winning consecutive games and their fourth series win.
With both Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle placed on the injured list because of hamstring strains the last two days, the Orioles are left with a patchwork lineup, and they escaped on Saturday with a 4-2 win before 23,470 at Camden Yards.
Jackson Holliday led off the first with his seventh home run, his first leadoff homer, against Davis Martin (2-6).
Ryan O’Hearn increased his hitting streak to 10 games with a one-out double in the fourth, and he scored on Coby Mayo’s single, his first career RBI.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Orioles took a 4-1 lead on Dylan Carlson’s double, and Jorge Mateo’s first home run since June 21st , 2024.
“Yeah, big blow. Game-winning blow, big one for us,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I feel like he’s been swinging the bat better. If you guys watch the games, there’s some really good feelings about him in the box right now. Good chance he’ll be back out there tomorrow.”
Oriole starter Dean Kremer (5-5) allowed one run on six hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking two. The White Sox scored in the bottom of the fifth on a double by Mike Tauchman and a two-out single by Andrew Benintendi.
Yennier Cano allowed a run on two hits in the seventh. Keegan Akin recorded the last two outs on the seventh and walked former Orioles outfielder Austin Slater to start the seventh.
Seranthony Domínguez finished out the eighth, and pitching for the second day in a row, Félix Bautista walked two and struck out three to record his 10th save. It was the first time he had saves on consecutive days since July 22nd-23rd, 2023.
Left-hander Cionel Pérez cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.
What happened with Mayo? After Mayo drove in O’Hearn, he was caught up between first and second. Chicago second baseman Lenyn Sosa shoved Mayo for the third out and pushed him to the grass. Mayo got up and lightly pushed back at Sosa after grabbing his helmet.
“Obviously, just trying to get to second base and trying to get into scoring position for Heston [Kjerstad],” Mayo said. “Cuts it off and got into a rundown. Obviously, just being told in the minor leagues to try to stay in a rundown, and I thought he was in the base line and trying to get some contact. Didn’t mean for it to escalate. I wasn’t trying to do that. It just did.”
Both benches emptied and so did the bullpens, but the scrum ended quickly.
“I mean, the guys always have your back,” Mayo said. “I think everyone in here will fight for one another — not literally, but, you know, everyone has each other’s back. I think that’s just what happened. Looking out for teammates, and we’ll do the same thing for them.”
What happened with Mateo? For the second time in the last four games, Mateo (in center) and Kjerstad (in right) were involved in a scary play. They bumped arms chasing Sosa’s drive. Kjerstad caught it, and Mateo remained in the game, though Mansolino and trainer Mark Shires checked on him. He was removed for the ninth inning.
“It was an uncomfortable moment, just because I went through it,” Mateo said through a team translator. “But thankfully I’m doing good right now.”
Last July, Mateo, playing second, and shortstop Gunnar Henderson collided in Miami. A month later, Mateo had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.
“Jorgie’s good right now,” Mansolino said. “Obviously, we’ll see how he wakes up tomorrow. That’s the arm from last year. That’s the glove arm. You’ve got an infielder out there playing center field.
“You have a young rightfielder. I think things like that happen. We feel fortunate that nobody got hurt. We didn’t have Part 2 of Jorgie’s collision from last year, and then two, we got the ball because that would have been ugly had we not.”
On Tuesday night, Mateo and Kjerstad nearly collided on a ball that went for a triple.
What does Kremer think of the Orioles’ play? Over the Orioles’ last 10 games, they’re 6-4, and Kremer thinks they’ve stabilized.
“I’d like to think so. Guys are starting to get comfortable in their positions,” Kremer said. “I think there’s been less platooning or, it’s consistently the same guys in the lineup, I guess. Guys are getting their reps in. I think for everybody, not just for position players but for pitchers, as well, getting in there more often than not is easier to get into a rhythm, and I feel like guys are starting to hit their stride.”
What’s the stat of the day? Kremer has a 2.25 ERA through his first four home starts.
What’s the word? “He’s doing great, and I told him when I took over the seat, I said: ‘J, you’re going to play every day, right or left. We’ll give you a blow when we need to give you a blow, essentially. It might be against a righty if you need one. It might not just be a lefty. In terms of hitting leadoff, you’re going to be in there for the time being.’ We’ll see where it goes. We’ve got a lot of good players coming back.”-Mansolino on Holliday
What’s next? Charlie Morton (1-7, 7.09) will face Adrian Houser (1-0, 0.00) on Sunday at 1:35 p.m
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich,@BaltimoreBaseball.com