A leadoff homer gave the White Sox exactly the kind of start they wanted. Everything after that belonged to Baltimore.
Sam Antonacci opened the game with a home run on the second pitch, putting Chicago up 1-0 and briefly giving the home crowd something to latch onto. But the Orioles kept squeezing out the key moments, and by the time the fifth inning was over, they had taken control of a 6-1 win that kept the White Sox from finishing a sweep.
Tyler O'Neill was right in the middle of it all on Canada Day. The British Columbia native helped shut down Chicago’s best chance to add on in the fourth, then erased the White Sox’s lead with one swing in the fifth. His diving catch in right field denied Chase Meidroth and preserved the deficit at one run after Braden Montgomery had already seen his drive to right catch the top of the white stripe at the top of the wall and bounce back for a double instead of a two-run shot.
That sequence mattered because Chicago had the chance to build on Antonacci’s homer. Jacob Gonzalez drew a walk, and Meidroth stepped in with runners aboard.
Dean Kremer started him with a curveball for strike one, then tried to come high with a fastball. Meidroth got a line drive to right, but O'Neill got there with a diving grab to end the threat.
Chicago never got that kind of break back. In the next inning, O'Neill turned the game around with his own homer, lifting a 2-1 sweeper from Noah Schultz into the left-field seats to tie it at 1.
Schultz had worked through four innings without allowing a run, even while dealing with more walks than he wanted. He struck out the middle of Baltimore’s order in the fourth, including an eight-pitch battle with Coby Mayo in which Schultz didn’t throw a ball. But the fifth got away from him in a hurry.
After O'Neill’s homer, Schultz struck out Leody Taveras, but his full-count fastball to Jackson Holliday missed outside. Then his 0-2 changeup to Blaze Alexander stayed in too much, and Alexander lined it through the left side for a single. That brought the bullpen into the picture, and the Orioles kept pressing.
Bryan Hudson couldn’t stop the momentum. Gunnar Henderson singled to right to load the bases, Adley Rutschman followed with a single to left that put Baltimore in front, and Taylor Ward lifted a fly to right that was deep enough to score Alexander, even with Montgomery making a strong throw home. Trevor Richards then took over for Hudson, but he bounced a changeup for a wild pitch that brought in the fourth run.
Baltimore wasn’t finished adding to the cushion. Alexander’s RBI triple in the sixth and Taveras’ solo homer off Brandon Eisert in the eighth stretched the margin further, though the Orioles didn’t need the extra help. Their pitching took care of the rest.
Kremer handled six innings of one-run ball and improved to 4-0 against the White Sox in his career. Tyler Wells and Andrew Kittredge finished the job by retiring all nine batters they faced.
Antonacci was the lone bright spot in Chicago’s lineup, finishing 2-for-4 with the solo homer. The White Sox had only one at-bat with runners in scoring position all afternoon, and Meidroth’s lineout was it. Baltimore, meanwhile, had seven chances with runners in scoring position and cashed in three of them.
Schultz’s final line was 4.1 innings, two hits, three runs, three earned, four walks, seven strikeouts and one home run, with 57 of his 87 pitches going for strikes. It was the kind of outing he can build from, provided his knee will allow it. Luisangel Acuña and Drew Romo also didn’t provide the same 8-9 punch as Tristan Peters and Gonzalez, and Peters’ fifth-inning single was wasted when Kremer forced Acuña’s bunt attempt and then Rutschman cut him down trying to reach second.
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White Sox May Try A Surprising Plan With A Top Pitching Prospect
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What makes McDougal especially interesting is the possibility that his next step might not be the straight line most prospects take. The White Sox have precedent for easing talented arms in through relief before stretching them out later, and there is at least some logic to that path for a pitcher whose workload still needs to be managed. Whether that becomes a short-term bridge or something more meaningful for his development is the question hanging over his comeback. [Read more 🡒]
Two White Sox Pitching Rehabs Just Became Worth Watching
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For a Chicago club still sorting through arms, the timing matters as much as the results. Smiths return gives the White Sox another chance to monitor a pitcher trying to reestablish himself, and McDougals outing arrives with the possibility that his path back could be shaped by what the organization needs most in the final weeks. The next few appearances should show whether these are just encouraging first reps or the beginning of something more useful for the big league picture. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Could Be Pulled Into A Brutal Crosstown Pitching Chase
The starting-pitching market around the deadline always gets tricky, and this one may get especially awkward on the South Side. The Cubs are looking to shore up a rotation that has been battered by injuries and uneven performances, and ESPNs David Schoenfield has pointed to one of the more intriguing arms on the board as a possible fit. Even with a 4.81 ERA, the right-hander is still being viewed as one of the better available starters, which says plenty about how thin the rental market can be this time of year.
For the White Sox, the timing matters because they are in the same conversation for the same kind of help. Any pursuit of rotation depth can quickly turn into a race, and the possibility of both Chicago clubs chasing the same arm only adds another layer to a deadline that already figures to be busy. The question now is whether the Sox are willing to push hard enough to keep pace if the market starts moving faster than expected. [Read more 🡒]