The Chicago White Sox built up a four-run lead on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles, but they couldn’t hold it as the visiting squad scored a comeback 5-4 victory at Guaranteed Rate Field in the opening game of a doubleheader.
Dwight Smith Jr. tied the game in the seventh inning with an RBI double to right field, and Jonathan Villar gave the Orioles the lead in the eighth with a sacrifice fly to center field. Branden Kline and Mychal Givens combined to strike out five White Sox hitters and gave up just two hits in 3.1 innings of work to seal the victory.
Carlos Rodón gave up three earned runs in 3.2 innings of work for the White Sox, and Jace Fry and Kelvin Herrera each gave up an earned run as the Sox coughed up their lead late in the contest.
Things looked great for the White Sox in the first three innings of the game, as they capitalized on a slew of Orioles mistakes. José Abreu doubled to left field to score Leury García to put the Sox up by a run, and then struck again in the third as he drove in another run to make it 2-0. Yoán Moncada scored on an error to make it 3-0 in the third, and then Nicky Delmonico stroked an RBI single to left field, scoring Yonder Alonso and giving the White Sox a four-run cushion.
Slowly but surely, the Orioles ate into the White Sox lead. Smith Jr. scored on a throwing error by catcher James McCann to get Baltimore on the board, and then Stevie Wilkerson registered an RBI fielder’s choice to make it a 3-2 game. Leonys Martin finished off the rally in the fourth with a double to deep center field to cut the Chicago lead to just one run.
That lead held until the seventh when Smith Jr. tied the game with an RBI double, and then Villar followed that up in the eighth with a sacrifice fly to center field, giving Baltimore its ultimate margin of victory.
The White Sox will have another chance to take down the Orioles on Wednesday night, as they play the second game of their doubleheader at Guaranteed Rate Field.