Remember when the White Sox scored two quick runs off Pablo López back on Tuesday, but they left runs on the table, and that came back to bite them after Lopez figured out which pitches were working?
Well, the White Sox found themselves in a similar situation against Grayson Rodriguez, but maxed out their scoring opportunity with a three-run homer by Gavin Sheets, then a solo shot by Jake Burger.
And they ended up losing by more, because Dylan Cease couldn't pitch around defensive mistakes and the bullpen once again broke down, this time with Aaron Bummer leading the charge.
The White Sox are still in search of their first winning streak and series victory of the Pedro Grifol, dropping to 0-4-1 on the season.
The Sox reached with four of their first batters -- walk, single, Sheets homer, and then Burger's blast two batters later. Oscar Colás drew a walk, but Seby Zavala grounded into the first of his two double plays, and the malaise set in shortly after.
The Sox offense managed just four singles and a walk the rest of the way, and only had one at-bat with runners in scoring position.
Alas, most of Cease's afternoon was a slog. The hope was that the Orioles missed their best chance when they left 'em loaded in the second, but Burger gave them a second opportunity for a crooked number in the fourth, and they capitalized.
The Orioles applied pressure by putting runners on the corners with one out, but Cease traded a run for an out with a sac fly. He then got Terrin Vavra to hit a firm grounder to the left side, but Burger boxed it on the backhand to keep the inning alive, and Cedric Mullins shot a triple to the left-center gap to make it a 4-3 game.
Still, Cease rebounded with an easy fifth inning to put himself in position for a win, but the Orioles maintained their own trend of threats in the even-numbered innings. They put runners on first and second with one out, which became runners on the corners with two outs after Vavra grounded into a 4-6 fielder's choice.
(Lenyn Sosa bobbled the exchange, but I think Vavra would've beaten an Elvis Andrus turn because the bouncer was slow, Vavra has some speed, and he got a head start from the left-handed batter's box.)
Once again, Cease had to retire Mullins to end the threat, and once again, Mullins got the better of him. He worked a walk to load the bases to bring Adley Rutschman to the plate, and Rutschman didn't have to do anything. Cease started him with two curves, the second of which bounced in the first and off Zavala's chest protector for the tying run.
(Cease stayed in at least two batters too long, except there isn't a White Sox reliever I like with the bases loaded.)
Keynan Middleton pitched a scoreless seventh in the odd inning, but Aaron Bummer found immediate trouble in the eighth. He allowed a double to Jorge Mateo and an easy stolen base as Bummer walked Ryan McKenna. Mullins then thwarted the lefty-lefty situation with a single to center that put the Orioles ahead for the first time all day, and then he walked Rutschman to load the bases.
Gregory Santos couldn't put out the fire fast enough. He lucked into a 7-5 fielder's choice at third on a line-drive single to Gavin Sheets that made it a 6-4 game, but then Anthony Santander lined a single to right for another run, and that more or less settled it.
Adding insult to injury, Mullins added a run-scoring single off Jake Diekman in the ninth for yet another lefty-lefty failure, and Mullins' fourth RBI of the game. That gave the Orioles an odd-inning run, but it evened their total, and doubled what the White Sox produced.
Bullet points:
*The start of the game was delayed by 2 hours and 22 minutes due to rain.
*Sheets' homer was one from the Guaranteed Rate Field Signature Collection: 97.3 mph off the bat and an expected batting average of .190, but 370 feet because the ball carries that way. It was the 21st hardest-hit ball of the game.
*White Sox pitchers walked seven batters, which actually lowered their average number in home games this year.
