CHICAGO — From a statistical standpoint, this wasn’t the best start of the season from an Orioles pitcher. Trevor Rogers owns that crown, and he’s not likely to lose it anytime soon. What Brandon Young did Monday, though, felt like a pivotal performance — or, at least, as pivotal as any performance can feel during the 10th game of the season.

The Orioles were coming off a three-game sweep in Pittsburgh, and with right-hander Zach Eflin injured, Baltimore turned to Young for what might only be a spot start. Young provided five scoreless innings against the White Sox, and in doing so, he put an end to a losing spell that built to five of the Orioles’ previous six games.

Tyler Wells followed Young’s efforts, and Rico Garcia and Ryan Helsley came through as well — despite some late dramatics.

It was the sort of starting pitching Baltimore hasn’t experienced from many arms not named Rogers thus far. And with an improved defensive showcase and a home run from Gunnar Henderson, the Orioles took the first game at Rate Field, winning 2-1.

“It was pretty cool, again, just being back with the team, just giving us a chance to win,” Young said. “I know, obviously, I haven’t been up, so seeing last series against Pitt and just trying to do my job and give the team a chance to win, it felt good. It felt nice.”

The dam didn’t break open for this slow-going offense, but the two runs were enough when the pitching staff posted zeroes until Helsley’s one-run ninth inning.

Baltimore (4-6) got on the board in the fourth against right-hander Erick Fedde when Tyler O’Neill blooped a ball down the left-field line. Adley Rutschman, on first base, ran on contact because there were two outs. As left fielder Austin Hays charged toward O’Neill’s knock, he strained his hamstring and hobbled to retrieve the ball.

Rutschman scored from first. O’Neill, however, didn’t think the ball would land in play. He wound up with only a single. And while it’s impossible to predict baseball based on each situation, Ryan Mountcastle’s subsequent single might have allowed O’Neill to score and expand the lead.

Manager Craig Albernaz said it looked as if the ball would land in the seats. The wind in Chicago blew it back fair, and the dugout yelled for O’Neill to run.

“Ideally,” Albernaz said, O’Neill would run out of the box.

“New to the ballpark and the wind blowing. ... We let him know, but to me, it’s Adley busting his ass from first base to score” that was more important, Albernaz concluded.

The Orioles instead waited for Henderson’s third homer of the season to build their lead. He bashed Fedde’s middle-up cutter down the right-field line in the sixth inning to make it 2-0.

Henderson said any runs the Orioles could scratch across would be big because of the adverse cold in which they played, and he was right. His blast, and Rutschman’s hustle around the bases, were just enough.

Henderson doesn’t think Baltimore will have to scratch and claw all the time, though.

“It’s still a new clubhouse,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out each other and, I mean, it takes a little time. Everything’s not just going to click on all cylinders from Day 1. I wish it would, but that’s just not the reality of things. But we’re putting ourselves in a good spot and we’ve been in just about every game that we’ve played, so yeah, I think it’s just a matter of meshing, or getting that mesh in. It’s just kind of that feel-out period, and I think whenever we get going it’s going to be a really good ride.”

That perspective, plus Henderson’s ability to flush strikeouts in his first two at-bats before crushing the homer, is part of why Albernaz called his start shortstop “the aircraft carrier.”

What Albernaz meant is that he views Henderson as a generational talent who can carry the weight of many things, such as a franchise.

“He shows his frustration, but he’s never out of the game, never mentally out of it,” Albernaz said. “You always know when he’s up there, he’s locked into that at-bat, never giving at-bats away.”

Helsley’s appearance was far from routine, though, and he needed a superb play from first baseman Pete Alonso to prevent at least a run. After two walks to begin the ninth inning, Colson Montgomery grounded a 103.6-mph ball down the first base line. Alonso dove, snared it and flipped to Helsley at first base for the first out.

The Orioles traded the second out for a run when a ground ball went to Henderson at short, and Helsley struck out Edgar Quero to strand the tying run at third.

That sequence featured just one of the standout plays Alonso has made this season. Albernaz said that “Pete’s defense has been better than we expected, and that’s a credit to him and the work that he’s put in.”

Before the game, Albernaz said he wanted Young to just be himself and not try to be too perfect on the mound. Young followed that advice by pounding the strike zone. He threw first-pitch strikes to 13 of the 18 batters he faced, and when Andrew Benintendi almost took advantage of a high four-seam fastball — driving it to the warning track in the second inning — Young adapted.

The 27-year-old began using his sinker more frequently his second time through the lineup. It’s a new pitch in his arsenal that he debuted last week in Triple-A, and it seemed to keep batters off balance.

“Puts a little wrinkle in,” Young said. “Two-seam, sinker, I don’t even know what it is, really, but just something different to keep them off. It’s been good to me. Started in spring training throwing it, and I had the courage to throw it tonight. I think it’s going to be a big pitch for me.”

Young finished with two hits and two walks against him over 66 pitches. Wells took over for two scoreless frames, and Garcia provided a clean eighth inning. Helsley struggled, but for all the drama, he closed the door on a needed win.

Note: With left-hander Dietrich Enns on the injured list due to a foot infection that required a hospital visit, the Orioles acquired 30-year-old Nick Raquet as another bullpen option, according to a source.

The southpaw made his major league debut last season and pitched two scoreless appearances for the St. Louis Cardinals in September.

In 137 minor league games, 67 of them starts, Raquet has a 3.69 ERA in 446 innings pitched, with 374 strikeouts and a 1.36 WHIP.

He started the 2026 season with Triple-A Memphis, allowing one earned run across three innings, before St. Louis designated him for assignment Sunday. Raquet has options remaining and could be a depth piece down the road. The Orioles will need to make an additional move to open a 40-man roster spot.

To complete the deal, the Orioles are sending the Cardinals 22-year-old utility player Brayden Smith, the source said. The 2025 13th-round pick out of Oklahoma State opened this season with High-A Frederick.