Chase Meidroth saw Baltimore Orioles starter Kyle Bradish drop a return throw to the mound after walking Chicago White Sox third baseman Colson Montgomery in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s game at Rate Field.
Meidroth, who was on his way to third with the walk, decided to sprint home.
“Just following the ball until the play is dead,” Meidroth said. “Always talk about that, just finishing the play.”
Bradish recovered the ball, but threw wildly to the plate as Meidroth slid in safely. The dash home gave the Sox a one-run lead.
It wouldn’t last long.
The Orioles responded with two runs in the sixth and held on to defeat the Sox 5-3 in front of 10,133. The Sox were swept in the three-game series as they completed a 3-3 homestand.
“Tough series,” manager Will Venable said. “I thought we played all right. I think there’s a lot of good stuff. We saw a lot more strike-throwing. We continued that trend where we were able to navigate whatever walks we did throw out there.
“I thought offensively, it was a little quiet, missing that big knock. (Wednesday) I thought was better than (Tuesday). We had some guys committed to moving the fastball forward, did a nice job with that. Just needed that one big hit, but overall a series where there’s some good stuff to take away. A lot of stuff that we have to clean up and continue to get better, but these guys played well.”
It’s a new year, but the Orioles continue to give the Sox trouble. The Sox have lost nine straight
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overall to Baltimore, and 11 consecutive games at home to the Orioles.Venable said starter Sean Burke did a “nice job” on Wednesday. The right-hander allowed two runs on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
“It was fine,” Burke said of the start. “Just the second and third inning, kind of got a little long on me. I would have liked to go more, kind of go deeper into the game with how much our bullpen has been throwing, help them out a little bit.
“The offense puts up two runs (in the second inning) and it’s frustrating to give that right back (with two runs) the next inning.”
Meidroth’s smart play in the fifth put the Sox ahead 3-2. But Pete Alonso scored the game-tying run in the sixth inning on a passed ball by catcher Reese McGuire with reliever Bryan Hudson on the mound. Dylan Beavers followed with a sacrifice fly to right, giving the Orioles a 4-3 lead. The two runs, one earned, were charged to reliever Lucas Sims.
Baltimore added another run in the ninth against reliever Tyler Schweitzer, who allowed one run on two hits with one strikeout and one walk in 1 1/3 innings during his major-league debut.
“It was very special,” Schweitzer said of the debut.
The Sox had two on and two outs in the ninth, but Montgomery grounded out to end the game.
The Sox (4-8) left 10 on base and went 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position. They grounded into two inning-ending double plays, including one with the bases loaded in the second.
The Sox were 5-for-24 (.208) with runners in scoring position over the series.
“We’ve got to get going,” Meidroth said of the offense as a whole. “We know what we’re capable of. There’s no pressure, no panic, just day by day it’s a process. The game is hard, but we know what we’re capable of and what we need to do.”