Gunnar Henderson is back in the leadoff spot for the Orioles tonight, sliding into the top of the order for the first time since May 16 as Baltimore opens its series against the White Sox at Camden Yards. Taylor Ward drops to second, while Samuel Basallo is set as the designated hitter, Dylan Beavers starts in right field, Colton Cowser is in center and Blaze Alexander handles third.
Henderson comes in scuffling a bit at the plate, going 1-for-18 over his last four games, but he still had plenty to say about where the Orioles stand. “Obviously, every game matters,” said shortstop Henderson, “so just obviously execute a little bit more on the back half of the games, and yeah, we’ll win more games.”
Baltimore’s offense has a chance to make more noise against White Sox right-hander Sean Burke, a third-round pick in 2021 out of the University of Maryland. Burke has been solid overall, going 16 appearances and 12 starts with a 3.71 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings.
He saw the Orioles once already this year, on April 8 in Chicago, and held them to two runs and two hits over five innings. In his last two starts, Burke has given up just two runs across 13 2/3 innings, with two walks and 14 strikeouts.
Against Baltimore, he owns a 3.00 ERA in three appearances, including one start, with five runs allowed in 15 innings.
Ward has had success against Burke, going 4-for-9 with two doubles. He’s also hit Chicago well in his career, batting .313 with a .397 on-base percentage and .504 slugging. Those are Ward’s best average and OBP against any opponent, and his slugging mark is second-best.
The Orioles are seven games under .500 and three games out in the Wild Card race. They’re also sitting a half-game behind the Blue Jays for third place after Toronto dropped six straight, while staying only 1 1/2 games ahead of last-place Boston, which has won four in a row. The margins are tight, and Baltimore knows it.
There’s another number worth watching in this lineup: Pete Alonso can become the fifth Oriole to reach 20 home runs before the All-Star break in his first season with the club. The list is a short one, featuring Mark Trumbo with 28 in 2016, Nelson Cruz with 28 in 2014, Frank Robinson with 21 in 1966 and Mark Reynolds with 20 in 2011. Alonso already has 19 homers, tied for third among players on new teams this season behind the White Sox’s Munetaka Murakami and the Pirates’ Brandon Lowe, who each have 20.
Blaze Alexander has quietly been one of Baltimore’s hottest bats. Since the start of May, he’s hitting .367, the best average among players with at least 100 plate appearances in that span. Per STATS, that would be the highest May-June average by an Orioles player since Melvin Mora’s .369 in 2003.
Baltimore has also had the White Sox’s number for a long time. The Orioles have swept Chicago in three straight series, winning nine in a row overall against them.
If they complete another sweep this week, it would be their fourth straight against the White Sox and would match the franchise’s longest streak against any opponent, a 10-series run against the Senators from 1963-1964. Their last stretch of four straight sweeps came against the Blue Jays from 1978-79.
Chicago arrives with a 43-39 record and a first-place tie with the Guardians in the American League Central. The White Sox have been much better at home, going 28-14, compared with 15-25 on the road after three straight 100-loss seasons.
Still, they’ve taken a major step forward: twenty teams have finished at .500 or better after a 100-loss season, including the Orioles in 1989 and 2022, per STATS, and three of them made the playoffs - the 2017 Twins, 2020 Marlins and 2024 Royals. The only club to win its division or league the season after losing 100-plus games was the 1890 Louisville Colonels.
Chicago’s lineup has brought real power, with 116 homers, second in the majors behind the Yankees’ 121, and a .738 OPS that ranks sixth. The White Sox have also turned into a tough one-run team, going 17-10 in those games after owning the worst record in the majors in that category over the past two seasons.
Six of their last seven games have been decided by one run. Baltimore, meanwhile, is 6-13 in one-run contests.
Former Orioles reliever Serathony Domínguez is in the White Sox bullpen.
In Other News...
Blue Angels Turned Camden Yards Into A Baltimore Moment Fans Wont Forget
Camden Yards had an extra soundtrack Saturday, and the Orioles made sure everyone in the ballpark knew it was coming. Before the game against the Nationals, the club alerted the umpires and Washington about the noise from the U.S. Navys Blue Angels flyover tied to the Sail250 event, then passed the warning along to fans on the video board as the planes prepared to cross over the stadium.
The reminder proved necessary in the middle of one plate appearance, when home plate umpire Jansen Visconti had to call time several times as the roar overhead interrupted the action. Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser also had a little fun with the moment, saying he wished he could have sent one out while the planes were flying by, even if he came up just short of making the scene even more Baltimore. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles May Finally Have To Cash In Top Prospects
With the trade deadline looming, the Orioles are once again facing one of the harder choices that comes with building a contender: whether to move from their prospect strength to patch holes on the major league roster. Baltimore has spent years stockpiling young talent, but not every promising bat can fit at once, especially with congestion at catcher and first base making the next step tricky for some of the systems more intriguing names.
The pull to keep the pipeline intact is obvious, yet the pressure to win now is real, and that is where the front office has to decide how much future value it is willing to spend. Some of the organizations better young hitters have seen their stock rise at the right time, which only sharpens the question of whether the Orioles should keep waiting on development or turn that depth into help for the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Cant Ignore These Two Season-Defining Problems Any Longer
The Orioles have reached the point in the season where two problems keep showing up in different forms, and neither one can be brushed aside much longer. Gunnar Hendersons spot near the top of the lineup has become part of the conversation because the offense needs more than name value from a player in that role, while the rotation continues to look stretched as Baltimore tries to keep games from getting away early.
Kyle Bradishs latest start only deepened the concern on the pitching side, with another erratic outing that ended quickly after he issued five walks in four innings. There is growing reason to think the club may need to get creative with how it manages the staff, including the possibility of a six-man rotation if help arrives in time, but for now the Orioles are still stuck trying to solve issues that are hard to ignore and even harder to mask. [Read more 🡒]