BALTIMORE (AP) — Kyle Stowers hit his first major league homer to tie the game with Baltimore down to its last strike, and the Orioles went on to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox in 11 innings Thursday night.
Anthony Santander won it with an RBI single, but it was Stowers who saved it for Baltimore in the ninth. The 24-year-old outfielder, playing in his seventh career game, sent an 0-2 pitch from Liam Hendriks over the wall in right-center field. Hendriks had converted 19 save chances in a row before that.
Félix Bautista (4-3) retired all six of his hitters in the 10th and 11th, preventing the White Sox from even advancing an automatic runner to third. The Orioles blew a first-and-third, nobody-out chance in the 10th.
They had that opportunity again an inning later when Adley Rutschman hit a leadoff single against Jake Diekman (5-3). Santander followed with a line drive over the center fielder. That was Baltimore’s third unearned run of the game, including Stowers’ solo homer.
Earlier in that at-bat, Stowers lifted a catchable foul fly down the line in left, but Adam Engel — who had entered the game as a defensive replacement— appeared to take his eye off the ball and dropped it as he neared the screen. He was charged with Chicago’s third error of the night.
Andrew Vaughn went deep on the game’s first pitch for the White Sox, but Santander answered with a two-run shot in the first. The White Sox tied it with an unearned run in the seventh, and José Abreu hit an RBI single in the eighth to put Chicago ahead 3-2.
Chicago stayed four games behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central, and the Orioles remained 2 1/2 back of the final wild card in the American League.
Baltimore starter Jordan Lyles allowed one earned run and nine hits in seven innings. Chicago’s Lance Lynn allowed one earned run and three hits in six innings.
Abreu made two early errors at first base, including one that led to an unearned run scoring on Santander’s homer.
The White Sox lost two of three in this series despite outhitting the Orioles 34-18.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: 3B Yoán Moncada left the game in the fifth inning with left hamstring tightness. … OF Eloy Jiménez, who was hit in the left elbow by a pitch Tuesday, was back in the lineup after missing Wednesday’s game. Jiménez was initially sent to first on an inside pitch in the fourth, but a replay showed the ball hit the knob of his bat and the call was overturned to a foul ball. Jiménez then singled to center.
UP NEXT
White Sox: Start a nine-game homestand Friday night, the first opponent being Arizona. Johnny Cueto (6-5, 2.58 ERA) starts for Chicago against Tommy Henry (2-2, 3.57).
Orioles: At Houston, with Kyle Bradish (1-5, 6.25) on the mound for Baltimore. Lance McCullers (1-1, 2.45) is expected to start for the Astros.
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