Orioles avoid sweep and record-tying loss with 8-4 win (updated)

On the four-year anniversary of the Orioles clinching their first division title since 1997, they managed to avoid tying the club record for most losses in a season.

No champagne on ice, no plastic covering the lockers. An Orioles flag wasn't trotted around the warning track, fans didn't stick around to share in a celebration and Adam Jones didn't pie anyone.

It was just a nice win on a gorgeous afternoon at Camden Yards following a loss last night that gnawed at Buck Showalter. Embrace the feel-good moments and put away the math.

The Orioles scored five runs in the first inning, their highest total of the season, Jonathan Villar and Jones homered and Cedric Mullins had a career-high four hits in a 8-4 victory over the White Sox before an announced crowd of 19,104.

Along with avoiding a sweep, the Orioles improved to 43-106 overall and 26-48 at home as they await the Blue Jays for a three-game series that begins Monday night.

Villar's solo shot in the fourth inning, his third hit, was the 98th ball to land on Eutaw Street in the ballpark's history, the 43rd by an Orioles player and the fifth this season. Villar also did it on Aug. 15.

Jones hit his 15th home run with one out in the seventh to give the Orioles a 7-4 lead. He also singled and walked. And Mullins' fourth hit came in the eighth inning and scored pinch-runner Jace Peterson after Renato Núñez's leadoff bloop double.

Ryan Meisinger, born in Prince Frederick, Md., earned his first major league win.

With the rotation in total disarray, rookie David Hess returned to it and tied his career highs with seven strikeouts and three home runs allowed over 4 1/3 innings. He escaped a first-and-third, no-out jam in the fourth by striking out Welington Castillo, José Rondón and Adam Engel on fastballs in the 93-94 mph range to preserve a 5-1 lead, but Yolmer Sánchez and Daniel Palka homered in the fifth, the latter's second of the day.

Rookie catcher Chance Sisco left the game in the fourth after taking a foul tip from Castillo off the lower portion of his mask. Assistant athletic trainer Mark Shires held a towel to Sisco's chin as they walked off the field, and rookie Austin Wynns entered the game.

The Orioles pounced on White Sox starter Lucas Giolito, whose defense kept failing him, after they were shut out last night for the 14th time in a 2-0 loss.

"We had a great crowd last night," Showalter said during his early media session. "That game hurt me. That was a baseball game. We played it pretty well defensively, pitched it well and we just couldn't score any runs. That was frustrating.

"There was a great feel in the ballpark that we haven't had as much as we've had in the past because of us, and that game last night just didn't sit too well."

Showalter already has started his exit interviews, as they're called, with some of his players. It's done every season as the final weeks tick away. But 2018 brings a unique dynamic because of his contract status and the uncertainty over his return.

"My job is to have those things and help players in the offseason regardless," Showalter said. "You do a lot of things here regardless of what it may mean for you or whatever you do what's right. That seems to always take the what's right approach regardless of what down the road means."

Showalter admitted to having some concerns about the more inexperienced players being put into a losing environment perhaps for the first time and how they're going to grow from it.

"It's hard," he said. "It's like the flipside. When we (Yankees) took Derek Jeter to the playoffs (in 1995) when he wasn't eligible and wasn't on the playoff roster, when he was 21 or 20, that was the whole idea, because I wanted him around that environment," Showalter said. "And later on, he had a great quote that I remember. He said, 'Hey, I thought that's where we were supposed to be every year. It was a given. That's what we got up every morning for.'

"So on the flipside of that, you'd like to say they're not getting a true perception of how good this can be being up here. Waking up every morning and having a lot of hope for what's going to happen that night. So the good ones would kind of learn from that on the flipside, where, 'I don't want this to go there again.'

"It is a challenge. I do worry about it some because a lot of things can turn into habits and I'm not going to allow that. But you always seek your level. It's like an old manager told me a long time ago, try as you may, you can't screw up the good ones. Talent plays and the people who have it and have that competitiveness will separate themselves. Just give them enough time and they'll separate themselves."

A five-run first inning distanced the Orioles from the White Sox.

Mullins doubled, held at second on Joey Rickard's fielder's choice grounder and scored on Villar's single. Rickard scored on Jones' single and the Orioles led 2-0 before Giolito recorded an out.

The White Sox kept giving them away. Castillo fielded Rickard's roller and threw late trying to get Mullins. DJ Stewart picked up his first major league RBI after Yoán Moncada fielded his ground ball and tried unsuccessfully to cut down Villar at the plate. Jones scored on first baseman Matt Davidson's error.

Breyvic Valera's fly ball to right field brought home Stewart for a 5-0 lead.

The Orioles have been outscored 116-68 in the opening frame this season.

Stewart continues to search for his first major league hit. He was the designated hitter today, which came with an explanation from Showalter.

"I wanted to get Joey out there," he said. "It was either him or Chris (Davis). I talked to Chris some. He understands what's going on.

"I just felt like DJ needed to continue to get at-bats and there aren't four outfield spots. And there's a left-handed pitcher (Ryan Borucki) tomorrow that he probably won't start against, so I didn't want him to sit two games in a row, so I had to get his bat in there somehow. That was lineup No. eight or nine."

Mullins had his first major league stolen base in the second inning after Rondón lost his popup in the sun. The White Sox basically didn't know what to do with any ball hit at or near them.

Palka led off the top of the second with a home run, but a walk and single didn't allow the White Sox to get any closer in the inning. Hess was aided by your standard 1-4-3-6 double play.

Sánchez followed Trey Mancini's error in the fifth with a two-run homer that reduced the lead to 6-3 and Palka's second homer of the day with one out removed Hess from the game.

Meisinger put two runners on base and stranded them. Tanner Scott struck out three batters while stranding two in the sixth. Paul Fry struck out two batters in the eighth to strand the runner he inherited from Miguel Castro and earned his first save.

Update: Showalter isn't ready to name his starter for Monday. He said there are three candidates who already are with the club and haven't started this season.

Left-handers Sean Gilmartin and Donnie Hart and right-hander Evan Phillips appear to be the considerations. It's going to be a bullpen game.

"We're going to look at it," Showalter said. "We've already started looking at it. We're not going to announce anybody today. We're going to kind let the smoke clear a little bit. I know it's one of three guys right now, none of which has started for us this year. I told them they would know by X-time and I don't want to give them too much time to think about it.

"We have a pretty good idea of which way we're going with it. We just want to make sure we've thought through everything, because I knew there were going to be some variables from today's game that may make us look at it differently. There are a couple people that will be down tomorrow."

Showalter on feel-good first inning: "There were a lot of good things in the first inning. Adam stealing created some situations. I can go through about six. Actually, as much as we've kind of beat up a little bit on some things that we've got to get better at, I'm thinking about taking that first inning and kind of going through, here's the little things we did to make that be a big inning. We had it stand up.

"I wish David could have been a little more efficient and got through five innings, but hopefully a lesson learned. It's another environment that a pitcher sometimes has to pitch in. I thought he had pretty good stuff. Just command got away from him. Just way too many balls compared to strikes."

Showalter on Sisco: "He had a pretty good chin laceration. Actually across, not down. Still trying to figure out how it happened. I've looked at the replay a couple of times. I'm sure you all have. I've never seen that. It looks like he had a razor inside of his mask. He's in concussion protocol right now. He's had some headaches, as would be expected, so we're going to err on the side of caution.

"I think he's going to be fine. It's just, opened it up pretty good. Was scary. A lot of blood there. By the time I got there his mask already had a lot of blood on it. I've never seen that before, that kind of cut. I'm real curious. Like all of us, you want to know why. So, one, you don't let it happen again. He was catching well, too. That's too bad."

Showalter on Mullins: Cedric had one of those days, not that everyone's been expecting, he's already shown some glimpses of it. But some of that fearlessness. There's a lot being thrown at him. He's had 100-plus at-bats in the big leagues.

"I was talking to Brady (Anderson) in Seattle, some of the places you see his movement and his skills a little bit more in a bigger place. Ours, not that it's confined. It's 410 feet. Left-center you have a little more room to run. But there's a lot more angles. Today was really the first time we really got to see a lot of his range potential out there."

Showalter on the positive impact of today's game: "This is a remainder. There's been a good energy the last couple days at the ballpark and the players actually kind of fed off it. I think it's a great kind of reminder of what has been, what can be and hopefully will be again. You can tell the younger players kind of feed off that a little bit. But it's not always going to be perfect conditions. It's going to rain all day and not a whole lot of people are going to be at the park on the road at 10:30 at night starting a game.

"They don't dial up 80 degrees and no rain and everything. These days are hard to find."

Showalter on Mullins and Villar sparking another good day: "When your first two hitters, and sometimes your first and third, are doing well, it usually bodes pretty well. I've noticed when guys at the top of the order do well, you stand a better chance. But I can't say I'm sitting there going, 'Boy, if these guys don't have a good day we're not going to win or have a chance.' But you could make a case for that, I'm sure."

Mullins on progress: "It's a day-to-day process. I come in, take a look at the pitcher, see what he has. More than likely it's a guy I haven't seen before. It's just a matter of sticking with my approach and trusting myself and putting good wood on the ball."