After the Orioles had been swept three straight and lost their sweepless streak in St. Louis, they were hoping things would turn for the better in Chicago. They have but the Orioles have had to work hard to get three wins, each by two runs, against a team with a poor record. 

But by posting wins by 8-6, 6-4 and then 5-3 yesterday, the Orioles (32-18) can complete a four-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox (15-38) today at Guaranteed Rate Field.

After scoring just eight runs in the losses at St. Louis, the Orioles have scored 19 runs on 29 hits and hit six homers against the White Sox.

The O's were behind 3-0 going to the top of the eighth Saturday when they hit three homers in a span of five batters. The homer explosion put them in front and they won the game. 

Ryan O'Hearn's two-run shot was his seventh and allowed the O's to avoid the shutout. But the next two home run balls allowed them to avoid a loss. Anthony Santander's two-run shot gave them a 4-3 lead and Jordan Westburg's eighth homer, a solo blast, gave them an insurance run.

CHICAGO - Dillon Tate sat at his locker this morning wearing a black hoodie, his head covered, his body turned away from the clubhouse. He was relaxed and not looking for any attention. Probably wishing that he could avoid it altogether, given his low-key personality and preference that others bask in the spotlight.

Here’s the conflict: You retire all seven batters you face in your longest relief outing in three years, setting up the rally in the eighth inning that produced a 5-3 win, and you’re going to be praised and asked about it.

Tate earned the win with 2 1/3 spotless frames and four strikeouts. The Orioles hit three homers and scored five runs in the eighth.

“It was good to be back out there, sharing the field with my guys,” said Tate, who was optioned April 29 and recalled on Friday. “Happy to get that win. We needed that.”

Team first, as usual with Tate.

CHICAGO – The Orioles are trying today to complete their first four-game sweep on the White Sox’s home field since 1995.

The forecast might not allow the teams to play. Rain is supposed to pelt the area through the afternoon, leaving to the question of how long they’ll wait with the Orioles traveling home for Monday’s day game.

Jordan Westburg is leading off today, with Gunnar Henderson in the cleanup spot in the Orioles’ mostly right-handed lineup.

Austin Hays is in left field and Colton Cowser stays in center. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

Ryan O’Hearn is on the bench against left-hander Garrett Crochet. He homered yesterday and is batting .294/.364/.521 with four doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 18 RBIs against right-handers this season.

Jesse Winker is out of the Nationals lineup today. Lane Thomas could be back in the Nationals lineup Monday.

Winker is sitting for the team’s series finale against the Mariners with a cramp in his left quad, an injury that forced his departure in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 3-1 victory.

“It basically was a cramp, but he’s still a little sore,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I talked to him this morning. He’s going to be available to pinch-hit today. I’d rather do that than have him go out there and something else happens. Let him get through the day, and then he can come off the bench and help us.”

Winker had an active day at the ballpark. He beat out a well-placed drag bunt for a single in the second inning. He singled to center and stole second in the seventh, then advanced to third on Keibert Ruiz’s bloop single to center.

Those final 90 feet, though, may have been too much for Winker, who didn’t look comfortable once he got to third base. The Nationals sent Victor Robles in to pinch-run for him in what at the time was still a 1-1 game. Robles would score the go-ahead run on Ildemaro Vargas’ grounder to short.

The Nationals haven’t been in this position for a while, having already won the first two games of a series and now having a chance at a sweep with another win in the finale. They’ve positioned themselves like this by beating the Mariners twice in a row behind stellar pitching. MacKenzie Gore and Trevor Williams each gave up one run, each via a solo homer, and nothing else. And the bullpen has put up nothing but zeroes so far in the series.

Can Patrick Corbin be counted upon to do the same today? That’s a big ask for the left-hander, who was roughed up by the Twins in his last start. The good news: Corbin did shut out the Mariners last season in Seattle, tossing seven scoreless innings while striking out nine in one of his best outings ever.

Right-hander Bryan Woo is on the mound for the Mariners, and he faced the Nats during that same series last summer and allowed only one earned run over five innings. The 24-year-old opened this season on the injured list with an elbow ailment, but he’s been outstanding since returning, allowing just one run and eight baserunners in 15 2/3 innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. SEATTLE MARINERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 4 mph right field to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Eddie Rosario
DH Joey Meneses
2B Luis García Jr.
LF Ildemaro Vargas
3B Nick Senzel
1B Joey Gallo
C Riley Adams
CF Victor Robles

CHICAGO – In some ways, Orioles outfielder Kyle Stowers will always be linked with catcher Adley Rutschman and shortstop Gunnar Henderson.

That is because while Rutschman was taken with the first overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft and Henderson was the O’s next pick, at No. 42 overall. The third selection that year was Stowers, taken No. 71 overall out of Stanford.

The three are close friends and they were the first three draft selections by Mike Elias as Orioles executive vice president and general manager.

“It’s really cool. Definitely was a special draft and just really cool to come up through the system with them,” Stowers said Saturday morning in the Baltimore clubhouse. “Those guys have already made their mark on the league and hopefully I am heading that way as well.”

Rutschman, Henderson and Stowers have pushed each other to be better both on the farm and in the big leagues.

CHICAGO - The lineup card posted on May 12 in Memphis was top-heavy in Orioles prospects. Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton had Jackson Holliday leading off, followed by Coby Mayo and Kyle Stowers. Connor Norby would have joined them except that he exited the game two nights earlier with a left wrist injury and didn’t play for a week. Heston Kjerstad was optioned on the 13^th, with Stowers taking his place on the major league bench. Otherwise, he, too, would have been an imposing part of the order.

Batting sixth and serving as the designated hitter was Terrin Vavra. Back from a brief injury rehab assignment. Back from the shoulder surgery that brought down a season that began with such promise.

Trading in a cloak of invisibility for a Tides uniform that he hadn’t worn in 11 months.

“It’s not the level necessarily that I have aspirations to play at,” he said earlier this week, “but it’s also where I was and where I wanted to get back to.”

The journey was painful and tested him physically and mentally.

Too often this month the Nationals have put themselves in a position to score the late run they need to overcome an opponent, only to squander the prime opportunity with low-quality at-bats.

This time, they delivered when it mattered. And they did so in part by outsmarting the opposition.

During a critical sequence in the bottom of the seventh, Davey Martinez pressed all the right buttons that allowed the Nats to turn a tie game into a 3-1 victory over the Mariners, ensuring a series victory and a potential sweep Sunday afternoon.

"It kind of reminds me of the days we had the pitcher hitting," Martinez said. "A little National League game. It's fun when everyone's engaged and guys are playing well. Today, these guys were playing well."

Trevor Williams did his part to give his team a chance to win yet again with five strong innings of one-run ball. The bullpen did its part not to ruin Williams’ start. And the guys who stepped to the plate with the game on the line made sure none of it went to waste.

CHICAGO – With two relief appearances in the past four days, Albert Suárez was put on a starter’s leash this afternoon that didn’t measure an exact length. Manager Brandon Hyde planned on checking with him after each inning. Maybe he’d go three, maybe four.

Suárez fielded a grounder and started a double play to end the third and leave him at 60 pitches. And he wasn’t done. Hyde sent him back out for the fourth and was rewarded with another scoreless inning.

Hyde wasn’t pushing Suárez beyond the 80 pitches thrown, and a scoreless game was passed to reliever Keegan Akin, who surrendered a two-out, bases-loaded triple to Gavin Sheets in the fifth. A death blow for some teams. A wake-up call for the Orioles, who hit three homers in the eighth in a 5-3 victory over the White Sox before an announced crowd of 22,283 at sunny Guaranteed Rate Field.

They can strike quickly, and less-than-ideal circumstances heading into a game don't faze them. An emergency starter, a sputtering offense, a short bullpen, whatever.

"That was a fun inning," Hyde said. "That game offensively for us sucked for seven. We didn't do anything offensively."

The bullpen is about to undergo another change.

This one comes from outside the organization.

The Orioles traded Triple-A Norfolk pitcher Garrett Stallings to the Brewers this afternoon for right-handers Thyago Vieira and Aneuris Rodriguez. Vieria hasn’t reported, and the 40-man roster will be full upon his arrival. Rodriguez will head down to the Florida Complex League.

Vieira, 31, had a 5.64 ERA, 1.701 WHIP and one save in 16 appearances with the Brewers. He owns a career 6.18 ERA and 1.667 WHIP in 41 games with the Mariners, White Sox and Brewers, making his major league debut in 2017. He pitched in Japan from 2020-22.

The fastball averaged 98 mph this season and his sinker has plus velocity at 96.9, but he’s averaging 4.9 walks per nine innings in the majors to go with nine strikeouts. He’s averaged 4.5 walks in 10 minor league seasons.

It wasn’t much, only 23 pitches to a pair of hitters standing in front of a screen as several coaches and trainers watched from behind. For Josiah Gray, though, this was a significant step: His first time facing live batters since going on the injured list more than six weeks ago.

“Definitely put a smile on my face,” the Nationals right-hander said, “being able to get some pep back in my step and know that I’m able to go out there and face hitters. That’s what I love to do. That’s what I like: To just go out there and compete. So just a really, really important day, and I’m definitely going to enjoy this one.”

On the 15-day IL since mid-April with a flexor strain in his right elbow, Gray was cleared to start throwing again in short order. And he has been throwing off a bullpen mound for several weeks now.

But the Nationals wanted to hold off before taking this next step, wanting to make sure the 26-year-old was both in good physical shape and with clean pitching mechanics first.

“The thing is, we really want to try to keep this as more of a prevention thing,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We don’t want him to get hurt again. So we wanted to make sure we took time, that he was in his legs, that everything was sound. And then we can build up from there.”

CHICAGO – With Dean Kremer going on the injured list Friday with a right triceps strain, the Orioles, at least for today, are moving right-hander Albert Suarez back into their rotation.

In 10 games, three starts this year, he is 2-0 with a 1.78 ERA. Over 25 1/3 innings he has allowed 18 hits and just one home run with six walks and 21 strikeouts. He has given up a .198 batting average and .560 OPS.

The team is 2-1 in his three starts. In his first two against the Twins and Angels, he pitched a combined 11 1/3 scoreless on seven hits with two walks and nine strikeouts.

In his last five appearances, all out of the bullpen, he has thrown 5 2/3 scoreless giving up three hits.

Right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde (4-1, 3.10 ERA) will make his 11^th start and get the ball today for the home team.

Just about everything that could go right for the Nationals on Friday night did go right. MacKenzie Gore tossed seven innings of one-run ball. Luis García Jr., Keibert Ruiz and Eddie Rosario all hit homers. Hunter Harvey and Dylan Floro each tossed a scoreless inning of relief. And the Nats cruised to an easy 6-1 victory over the Mariners.

Now, can they do it again and actually build some positive momentum for the first time in a couple weeks?

Davey Martinez would love to keep the offense going like this against Logan Gilbert. The right-hander faced the Nationals last summer in Seattle and gave up four runs in six innings. García, Ruiz, Ildemaro Vargas and Riley Adams were all in the lineup that afternoon.

Trevor Williams also pitched in that series, also struggling. The right-hander allowed three runs on eight hits in only four innings, throwing a whopping 83 pitches in the process. Williams, of course, has been a very different pitcher this season, so he will hope to look more like that version of himself this afternoon.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. SEATTLE MARINERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 86 degrees, wind 9 mph out to left field

CHICAGO – Kyle Stowers is in left field today and Ramón Urías is the third baseman, as the Orioles try to win a third consecutive game after being swept in St. Louis.

Ryan O’Hearn is in right field. Colton Cowser returns to center field after last night’s leaping catch at the fence to rob Tommy Pham of a home run and end the game.

Jordan Westburg’s RBI double last night snapped an 0-for-13 streak. He’s the second baseman today.

Gunnar Henderson and Houston’s Kyle Tucker are tied for the major league home run lead with 17. Henderson is swinging 56.1 percent of the time with two strikes, with eight of his home runs coming in those counts, per STATS.

Albert Suárez is making the start after the Orioles put Dean Kremer on the 15-day injured list with a strained right triceps. He’s made 10 appearances, the last seven in relief, and registered a posted a 1.78 ERA and 0.947 WHIP in 25 1/3 innings.

After the Nationals finished their three-game series against the Twins on Wednesday, their presumed starting pitchers for this weekend’s three-game series against the Mariners were MacKenzie Gore, Trevor Williams and Mitchell Parker.

But Thursday’s off-day gave manager Davey Martinez a chance to switch things up and give one of his young starters some extra rest before his next start.

Patrick Corbin will now start Sunday’s finale against Seattle on normal rest, with Parker starting the opener in Atlanta on Memorial Day.

“I just wanted to give Parker an extra day,” Martinez said before Friday’s 6-1 win. “You know, he hasn't done this (starting in the major leagues). So I thought it'd be nice to give him an extra day.”

Parker made his last start on Monday (six innings, seven hits, three runs, one walk and seven strikeouts in a win over the Twins), so he’ll actually get two extra days of rest before retaking the hill Monday.

CHICAGO – The Orioles won’t completely empty their injured list this season because closer Félix Bautista is on the 60-day and unavailable until 2025. He’s playing catch and posting videos of his workouts in Sarasota.

They got it down to two names, including Tyler Wells, before John Means and Dean Kremer hopped on this week on back-to-back days. Health progress is made and then erased.

To borrow a Bruce Springsteen lyric, one step up and two steps back.

Five starters have gone on the injured list. Ace Corbin Burnes and left-hander Cole Irvin, temporarily moved to the bullpen, have managed to avoid it.

Knuckles rap on wood at the mere mention of it.

CHICAGO - This time the Orioles endured yet another rain delay, except this one came without rain or even a tarp. The field was ready for play but with the chance of a storm coming, the start of the Oiroles-White Sox game last night was delayed by 41 minutes.

It just delayed another win and another unique ending. And this time there was no controversial umpire's call. Just a leaping catch at the center field wall by Colton Cowser as the Orioles beat a pesky White Sox team 6-4. 

It seems like they are slowly coming out of their slumping ways on offense, or at least what was an offense that put up just eight runs when they were swept at St. Louis. But now in the last two games here, the Orioles have scored 14 runs on 21 hits with six doubles, three homers and also in going 7-for-18 with runners in scoring position.

On Thursday night in Chicago, the O's saw Ryan Mountcastle get going with a four-hit game and the night also featured two hits by Cedric Mullins and homers by Anthony Santander and Jorge Mateo.

Friday night two players that were struggling a bit recently had solid games in Jordan Westburg and Ryan O'Hearn. Adley Rutschman had the clutch hit late and Gunnar Henderson homered again. 

CHICAGO – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde explained earlier in the day why Adley Rutschman wasn’t in the lineup. Had nothing to do with an injury. That’s reserved for the rotation.

Three consecutive day games were on the docket. This was a way to give the catcher a little break before the grind.

Hyde smiled as he sat in the visiting dugout and conceded that Rutschman probably would get in there anyway. That’s usually how it works.

Rutschman came off the bench in the eighth inning and singled with two outs to score two runs, breaking a tie and giving the Orioles a 6-4 victory over the White Sox before an announced crowd of 18,831 at Guaranteed Rate Field that ensures nothing less than a split of the four-game series.

The Orioles are 31-18 and starting Albert Suárez on Saturday afternoon after placing Dean Kremer on the 15-day injured list with a strained right triceps.

CHICAGO - The Orioles aren’t listing a starter for Saturday afternoon’s game against the White Sox. They can go in a few directions. Calling upon Dean Kremer isn't among them.

Kremer was supposed to get the ball on his normal turn, but he’s on the 15-day injured list with a strained right triceps. Manager Brandon Hyde said he could make the announcement after tonight’s game.

“This is still pretty fresh so we’re still talking about it,” Hyde said.

Albert Suárez is the in-house candidate. He can provide some length.

Meanwhile, left-hander Cade Povich is scheduled to start Saturday for Triple-A Norfolk in Worcester. The No. 9 prospect in the system per MLB Pipeline is 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 1.049 WHIP in nine games and is averaging 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings. His walk rate is down to 3.2, compared to 5.8 last year in 10 starts with the Tides.

After ending the season's first three-game losing skid with Thursday's 8-6 win over the Chicago White Sox, the O's look to take two in a row in this four-game series tonight at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Anthony Santander hit a solo homer and Jorge Mateo blasted a three-run shot in a four-run fourth inning as the Orioles opened a 5-2 lead and never trailed after that. The O's had 13 hits, two off their season-high and it was the sixth time this year they've had 13 or more. They scored eight runs or more in a game for the eighth time in the 2024 season.

Mateo hit his homer 434 feet, the longest blast of his career. When he hit seven homers last year he averaged a homer every 45.43 at-bats and had a slugging percentage of .340. This year that average is one every 29.67 at-bats and his slugging mark is now .483. Mateo also walked twice in the game, his first game of the season with more than one walk. He also had two steals and Mateo is the first Orioles player with a home run and two stolen bases in the same game since Cedric Mullins on Sept. 10, 2021 against the Blue Jays.

Ryan Mountcastle, who had been 2-for-25 his previous six games, went 4-for-5 with a double and scored twice. He raied his batting average from .256 to .272. His single in the fourth inning produced an exit velocity of 112.3 mph. This was Mountcastle's first four-hit game since Aug. 3, 2023.

There were 12 balls hit last night at 100 mph or more, eight by the Orioles.