Henderson's leadoff homer accounts for all the Orioles' scoring in 8-1 loss (updated)

Albert Suárez watched his second pitch tonight, a fastball to White Sox leadoff hitter Nicky Lopez, sail into the right field seats.

Gunnar Henderson took it as a challenge, hitting his 10^th leadoff homer in the bottom of the first inning and his 35^th overall to set the club record for a shortstop.

The back-and-forth would stop, with Suárez producing a rare clunker. He wouldn’t get the last word or last through fifth. And the Orioles wouldn't score again.

Andrew Vaughn led off the fourth with a homer and Dominic Fletcher hit a two-run shot later in the inning, his first of the season, to guide the White Sox toward an 8-1 victory before an announced crowd of 17,843 at Camden Yards.

Chicago had lost 12 in a row and an astounding 42 of 46. They were outscored 22-3 in the first two games of the series.

Manager Brandon Hyde removed Suárez with two runners on base and one out in the fifth. Luis Robert Jr. had an RBI double in the inning. A change was made after 66 pitches, with Suárez turning in his shortest start since logging two innings in Miami on July 23.

Lenyn Sosa’s sacrifice fly against Keegan Akin gave the White Sox a 6-1 lead, the six runs charged to Suárez tying his season high. Suárez allowed eight hits.

The three home runs tied Suárez’s career high from June 18, 2016 with the Giants at Tropicana Field.

Suárez tossed a career-best seven innings in his last outing in Colorado and allowed only two runs. Tonight didn't bring a repeat or anything close to it.

“Missing location," he said. "They were aggressive today. They took advantage of that. Every time I’m behind in the count, I throw the ball in the strike zone, they swing aggressive, so I think that’s what was working for them today.”

Vaughn’s 16^th of the season resulted from a changeup left in the middle of the plate. Fletcher reached down to get his bat on a curveball.

"I just thought it looked like they got to his offspeed stuff," Hyde said. "Vaughn's homer was a changeup and the homer right was, I think, a breaking ball down. But maybe coming off a seven-inning stint in Colorado, maybe he just wasn't as sharp tonight.”

Henderson scalded a cutter from rookie Jonathan Cannon in the first and walked about halfway to first base before chucking his bat and yelling at the dugout. Cal Ripken Jr. hit 34 homers in 1991 and Miguel Tejada tied him in 2004.

"It’s definitely something that I’m going to hold very dear to me," Henderson said. "To pass those guys in something, in any type of Orioles history, is pretty special."

Ripken had a two-homer game on Sept. 29 in Detroit to reach 34 and Tejada reached the mark in Game 1 of an Oct. 2 doubleheader against the Red Sox. Henderson has plenty of at-bats left to pad the record.

"He's having a heck of a season so far," Hyde said. "Just doing a little bit of everything and that's some serious company when you're on those lists and passing those type of players.”

Cannon was 2-9 with a 4.70 ERA and 1.411 WHIP in 18 games before tonight. He allowed 17 runs in his last four starts, earning the loss each time, with 26 hits and 12 walks in 19 2/3 innings.

Adley Rutschman singled after Henderson’s homer but Ryan O’Hearn grounded into a double play. Cedric Mullins singled and stole a base in the second, but he tagged on Coby Mayo’s fly ball to right field and was thrown out at third. Henderson singled with two outs in the third and was caught stealing.

Robert made a leaping catch at the center field fence to rob Mullins in the fifth. Henderson singled with two outs in the sixth and Rutschman drew an eight-pitch walk to knock Cannon out of the game, but pinch-hitter Eloy Jiménez flied out against left-hander Fraser Ellard. Mullins singled with two outs in the seventh and Mayo grounded out. Jackson Holliday walked to lead off the eighth and Gus Varland struck out the next three batters.

Anthony Santander singled in the ninth and Mullins walked with two outs, but Henderson's homer would be the extent of the scoring tonight.

"So Gunnar swung the bat well," Hyde said. "I thought Cannon had really good stuff, honestly. I thought he has a ton of life to his two-seam fastball and cutter. The two seam fastball, he's really running kind of front hip in our left-handers and using both sides of the plate. That being said, we punched out way too many times. I thought they forced the action offensively way better than we did. So not a real good night offensively.”

Henderson has seven hits in four games this month.

"I feel like I’ve been making strides in the right direction,"  he said. "Been working. Obviously, it’s a long season, so the body kind of wears down. But I feel like I’ve been making strides in the right direction, kind of feeling out my body and I feel like I’m making the right moves right now."

Returning to the top of the order is bringing the desired results after a sluggish start to the second half.

"I mean, I would say I’m pretty comfortable with it," he said. "Pretty much done it the whole year. So yeah, he’s just trying to get me going again and I’m just trying to help the team win."

Four relievers combined to shut out the White Sox over 3 2/3 innings before Cionel Pérez allowed two runs in the ninth to send more fans to the exits.

Matt Bowman gave up two hits in the sixth but got a 6-4-3 double play out of Robert. Bowman has been charged with one run in 7 1/3 innings with the Orioles.

Robert was removed from the game before the bottom of the sixth with right hamstring tightness.

Gregory Soto stranded a runner in the seventh for his 10^th scoreless appearance in a row. Burch Smith left a runner on base in the eighth.

The Orioles (81-60) failed in their attempt to sweep a season series from the White Sox. They’re off Thursday before hosting the Rays this weekend.

"When you win the first two, you definitely want to win the last one, and so very disappointed in that," Hyde said. "Gunnar got us off to a really good start there in the first, then an Adley single and we didn't score, but we've got to swing the bat a little better than that.”

"Obviously want to win as many games as you can, and every game matters at this point in the season," Henderson said. "Don’t want to let any games slip away. Just go out there and keep playing hard and trying to win every game."

* Nick Maton received his first at-bat with the Orioles in the ninth inning and struck out.

* Jacob Webb made his second rehab appearance tonight and came out after retiring only one batter in the sixth inning and throwing 21 pitches with Double-A Bowie. Webb had allowed two runs and two hits and walked a batter before Nick Richmond replaced him and let two inherited runners score.

Webb replaced Patrick Reilly, who tossed five scoreless innings with two hits, one walk and eight strikeouts.

Dylan Beavers hit two home runs tonight, giving him 14. Creed Willems went back-to-back with Beavers in the first.

Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann struck out eight batters and allowed one run in 3 2/3 relief innings for Triple-A Norfolk. TT Bowens hit his second homer in two nights.