In a wild and eventful game, the Orioles once again got the better of the White Sox, winning 4-2 on Saturday afternoon in Baltimore to clinch the series.
Jackson Holliday opened the scoring in style, blasting a solo home run on just the third pitch he saw from Davis Martin. It was the 21-year-old’s first career lead-off homer, putting the O’s ahead 1-0 in the first.
More offense came in the fourth. Ryan O’Hearn narrowly missed a homer with a double to right-center, and rookie Coby Mayo followed with an RBI single to left. But Mayo then tried to take an extra base on the throw home and got caught in a rundown. In the chaos, he deliberately collided with second baseman Lenyn Sosa, who was well out of the baseline. After being tagged out, Mayo was confronted by Sosa, leading to a brief scuffle and both dugouts emptying. No punches were thrown, and no one was ejected, but it was a questionable decision by Mayo—even if he did record his first career RBI.
The White Sox got on the board in the fifth with a Mike Tauchman double followed by an Andrew Benintendi RBI single.
But the Orioles responded in the bottom of the inning. Dylan Carlson doubled, and Jorge Mateo launched a two-run homer—his first of the year—on a jet stream-aided shot that pushed the lead to 4-1.
Dean Kremer pitched six strong innings, allowing just one run on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. While not overpowering, he worked the zone effectively and took advantage of Chicago’s struggling offense. Kremer has now allowed only one run over his last 11.1 innings, lowering his ERA to 4.70.
Baltimore’s bullpen was shakier. Yennier Cano gave up a run on two hits and didn’t record a whiff in just one-third of an inning. Keegan Akin and Seranthony Domínguez followed, with Domínguez offering the steadiest relief, retiring three of four batters in the eighth.
There was a scare in the eighth when Mateo collided awkwardly with Heston Kjerstad while fielding a fly ball. Mateo grabbed his left arm immediately—a worrying sight given his previous UCL tear. He stayed in the game, took a walk, and even stole a base, though he slid feet first. He was eventually replaced in the ninth. The team will likely run further tests to ensure he’s okay.
Despite throwing 29 pitches on Friday, Félix Bautista was called on again in the ninth. The decision raised eyebrows—especially with his recent Tommy John recovery—and his command was clearly off, walking two of the first three batters. Still, Bautista rebounded to strike out the side and close out the win. He likely won’t be available Sunday.
It was a chaotic but entertaining game. Mayo had a memorable first RBI (for better or worse), Kremer was solid, Mateo nearly had a devastating injury, and the bullpen got through some turbulence. Most importantly, the Orioles secured their first series win since facing the Angels three weeks ago.
They’ll go for the sweep on Sunday—something they haven’t accomplished all season. A win would also give them just their second three-game winning streak of the year.
Sunday’s finale features Charlie Morton (1-7, 7.09 ERA) against Adrian Houser (1-0, 0.00 ERA in 12 IP), with first pitch set for 1:35 p.m. at Camden Yards.
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