Orioles Halt Sox Win Streak With 6-4 Win In 10 Innings
BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Chicago White Sox wiped out a four-run deficit -- and lost anyway.
Jason Frasor blamed himself. Manager Ozzie Guillen pointed the finger at Baltimore's J.J. Hardy.
Nolan Reimold hit a two-run off Frasor in the 10th inning, and the Baltimore Orioles ended Chicago's five-game winning streak with a 6-4 victory Wednesday night.
Acquired in a trade with Toronto on July 27, Frasor (2-2) gave up a one-out single to Chris Davis in the 10th before Reimold sent the next pitch over the center-field wall.
"Slider. I don't think it did too much," the right-hander said. "You know, I think he knew it was coming. He crushed it. Yeah, frustrating."
Told that Reimold was in a 4-for-37 funk before the homer, Frasor said, "He's got a bat in his hand -- and he's got some pop. He got it. What can I say?"
J.J. Hardy went 4 for 5 with a homer for the Orioles, who led 4-0 after five innings before the White Sox rallied. Hardy is 7 for 14 with two home runs in the series.
"What's the guy's name -- J.J. Ruth? J.J. Ruth hit a home run. This guy swings the bat pretty well lately," Guillen said. "J.J. Ruth. I go to see his museum tomorrow."
Mike Gonzalez (2-2) worked the 10th for the Orioles, who also got a home run from Adam Jones.
The loss ended Chicago's seven-game road winning streak, kept the White Sox four games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central and ruined Chicago's bid to reach .500 for the first time since July 29. Hardy is 7 for 14 with two homers in the first three games of the four-game series.
Making his second start for Baltimore since coming over in a July 30 trade with the Texas Rangers, Tommy Hunter took a 4-1 lead into the seventh. He got two outs before No. 9 hitter Brent Morel doubled in a run, putting runners at second and third.
Right-hander Jason Berken came in to face left-handed hitter Juan Pierre, who grounded the first pitch inside the third-base line for a two-run single, tying the score at 4.
Hunter gave up four runs and seven hits. In his two starts with the Orioles, he has not yielded a walk in 10 2-3 innings.
White Sox starter Philip Humber allowed four runs and 11 hits in six innings. He was 0-4 with a 7.97 ERA in his prior four starts.
After previously being outscored 82-35 in the first inning this season, Baltimore took a 1-0 lead before making two outs. Hardy hit his 21st home run, and Nick Markakis and Jones both singled before Humber retired Matt Wieters and Mark Reynolds.
The Orioles reversed another trend in their next crack at Humber. Held hitless in the second inning of its last 11 games, Baltimore used four singles and a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0. Robert Andino singled in a run and scored on a bases-loaded fly ball by Markakis.
The White Sox didn't get a runner in scoring position until Alex Rios led off the fifth with a double. He did not advance.
Jones led off the bottom half with his 21st home run, increasing his team-high RBI total to 71. Chicago closed to 4-1 in the sixth. Pierre hit a bloop to left that a charging Felix Pie gloved with a dive, but the ball squirted free for a double. Pierre advanced on a fly ball and scored on a groundout by Konerko.
NOTES: Chicago's Adam Dunn struck out three times, the 19th time this season he's had three Ks or more in a game. ... Orioles DH Vladimir Guerrero got the night off after a 1-for-18 skid dropped his batting average to .274. "I can tell in the dugout he's been a little frustrated lately because he's trying so hard," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of the 36-year-old slugger. ... LHP Mark Buehrle (9-5) starts for the White Sox on Thursday night, hoping to extend a streak of 17 straight games in which he's permitted three runs or fewer. It's the longest such run by a White Sox starter in a single season since Dave Lemonds in 1972, according to information provided to the White Sox by the Elias Sports Bureau. Chris Tillman (3-4) is expected to start for the Orioles. ... Jones' first-inning single ended an 0-for-12 drought.
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