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Sam Antonacci's second-pitch solo homer accounted for the White Sox's only run in a 6-1 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday. | (Ben Hsu/Getty Images)
The South Siders couldn’t quite handle the Baltimore heat this afternoon. Their pitching melted down, and the bats were stagnant, as they mustered only four hits off O’s starter Dean Kremer.
With the game-time temperature hitting 100°, Sam Antonacci wasted no time turning up the thermostat himself, starting things off with a bang and sending the second pitch of the afternoon 388 feet to center for his fifth homer of the season. Unfortunately for Chicago, that proved to be the only offense of the day as the Orioles rallied late to hand the White Sox a 6-1 loss Wednesday afternoon at Camden Yards, preventing their first road series sweep.
Noah Schultz looked far better than his final line suggested. The rookie showed electric stuff early, issuing a five-pitch leadoff walk to Gunnar Henderson before punching out Adley Rutschman and Pete Alonso to escape the first. He worked around another one-out walk in the second by getting Leody Taveras to bounce into a 5-4-3 double play, then stranded another leadoff free pass in the third by striking out Blaze Alexander before retiring Henderson and Rutschman.
As the afternoon wore on, the southpaw seemed to get stronger. After Chicago stranded a pair of baserunners in the fourth when Tyler O’Neill robbed Chase Meidroth with a terrific defensive play, Schultz answered by striking out the side in the bottom half. His sweeper was particularly sharp, and he carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning.
The Orioles finally broke through when O’Neill led off the fifth by launching a solo homer to tie the game. Schultz rebounded to strike out Taveras for his seventh punchout, but Jackson Holliday drew a walk, and Alexander followed with a base hit. Manager Will Venable turned to Bryan Hudson, who immediately allowed a single to Henderson to load the bases. Rutschman lined a go-ahead RBI single to left before Taylor Ward added a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1. Trevor Richards entered next and uncorked a wild pitch that plated another run before escaping the inning. What had been a solid outing for Schultz unraveled into a four-run, 23-minute fifth.
The Good Guys had their chances before Baltimore’s breakthrough. Braden Montgomery doubled in the fourth after a crew chief review upheld the original call, and Jacob Gonzalez followed with a walk, but Meidroth lined out to O’Neill to end the threat. Chicago also put a runner aboard in the fifth on Tristan Peters’ leadoff single, but Luisangel Acuña was erased on a force play before being thrown out attempting to steal second.
Chicago never mounted another serious rally. Antonacci singled to begin the sixth, but the next three hitters were retired. Baltimore tacked on an insurance run off Trevor Richards in the bottom half when Alexander tripled home Taveras. The O’s then added one more in the eighth courtesy of Brandon Eisert to account for the final margin.
Despite the loss, the White Sox still head to Cleveland feeling good after taking two of three from the Orioles. They’ll now begin a pivotal four-game series against the Guardians with first place in the AL Central on the line.
Who was the White Sox MVP?
Sam Antonacci: 2-for-4, R, RBI, HRBraden Montgomery: 1-for-4, 2BTristan Peters: 1-for-3Jordan Hicks: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K
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Who was the White Sox Cold Cat? Miguel Vargas: 0-for-4Andrew Benintendi: 0-for-4Chase Meidroth: 0-for-3Luisangel Acuña: 0-for-3, K, CSDrew Romo: 0-for-3Noah Schultz: 4 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 7 K, LBryan Hudson: 1/3 IP, 2 H, RBrandon Eisert: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, K
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