The Game Shouldn’t Have Been That Close
Despite defeating the Chicago White Sox (57-95) by a score of 8-7 on Tuesday night in Chicago, the Baltimore Orioles were officially eliminated from playoff contention following wins by both the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners. Following the disasterous start to the 2025 season and the subsequent release of Manager Brandon Hyde, would anyone have thought that the Orioles would stay in the playoff race this far into the season?
Of consolation to the most optimistic members of Birdland is the fact that with eleven games remaining, a .500 or better season is still in play even though the odds of that happening are less than 5%.
Tuesday night’s game saw the White Sox jump on Baltimore starter Dean Kremer (10-10) for a two-run homerun by Kyle Teel with no outs in the first inning. Kremer did settle down and retired nine consecutive White Sox batters before leaving the game with two outs and two on via walks in the sixth inning. Despite no making a quality start, Kremer finished with a line of 2 runs allowed on 4 hits over 5.2 innings with 3 walks, 4 strikeouts and 2 wild pitches. Additionally, he showed no ill effects from the right forearm discomfort that caused him to skip a start and in the end, he was credited with the win.
Offensively, the Orioles scored their eight runs before the White Sox could add on to their first inning tally. Leading the way were the rookie “Bees”, Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers. Basallo (1 for 4) hit his third homerun of the season, a two-run shot 420 ft. down the right field line in the third inning.
Beavers (2 for 5) hit a RBI triple in the fifth inning, scoring Gunnar Henderson from first base and added a two-run homerun in the eighth that traveled 408 ft. to right center.
Henderson contributed a 3 for 5 effort with 2 RBI while Jeremiah Jackson continues to perform, going 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI and a walk.
Coby Mayo went 3 for 5 with a double and a run scored and Dylan Carlson went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.
The bullpen was a mixed bag, however. Yaramil Hiraldo finished out the sixth inning for Kremer and pitched a scoreless seventh. The eighth inning saw Chayce McDermott allow 4 runs on 2 hits, walk 1, strike out 2, commit a balk and throw 2 wild pitches in two-thirds of the inning. Rico Garcia allowed an Andrew Benintendi homerun on the first pitch he threw (94.5 mph 4-seam fastball) in relief of McDermott before closing out the inning. Colton Cowser made a valiant effort to rob Benintendi of the homerun but came up short.
In what could be perceived as Interim Manager Tony Mansolino‘s pitch for becoming the manager in 2026 he said this post game, “We got rid of half the team (at) the trade deadline and we played one of the toughest schedules in baseball since, and we’ve probably played close to .500 baseball with a lot of guys that were in Norfolk for most of the year. So I think that, in and of itself, speaks plenty of volumes for what we’re doing.” He further added about the team, “They’re not happy. You go through like the core group in there, they are miserable right now. This has been a complete failure in a lot of ways that we’re at this point, that we are being eliminated from the playoffs, and there is a lot of motivation going forward. I promise you that.”
2025 Record: 71-80
Next Game: Wed. 9/17 @ 2:10 pm vs. White Sox in Chicago