New Orioles lineup delivers same lackluster result in loss to White Sox

When asked why Gunnar Henderson was batting leadoff for the first time since mid-May, Orioles manager Craig Albernaz played it coy.

“It’s a long run from [Taylor] Ward [from] left field after the inning’s over, run down, grab his stuff, and go lead off,” Albernaz said before Monday’s game against the White Sox. “So just want to switch it up.”

The fact that Henderson, who celebrated his 25th birthday Monday, was moved out of his typical spot in the lineup was not a shock, but the direction was. Henderson is in the third month of a season that has perplexed and frustrated him as much as outside observers.

Yet Albernaz has never wavered from his commitment to keeping Henderson near the top of his lineup. The shortstop has never hit lower than second all year despite entering Monday with a .221 batting average and .701 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

If anything, the Orioles’ series opener against the White Sox seemed like the time to drop Henderson — who went 1-for-14 in three games against the Nationals — down a few spots in the order. But in an effort to “break up the cadence,” Albernaz swapped Henderson and Ward when scribbling his starting nine.

Henderson rewarded his skipper’s faith early, doubling in his first at-bat and scoring on an Adley Rutschman sac fly to left. With two on in third, Henderson walked, tossing his bat aside with his signature flick. He legged out an infield single in the fifth.

Baltimore was getting consistent traffic on the basepaths, and Henderson was forcing the action.

But the night spiraled from there. Baltimore’s offense went dormant after scoring two early runs, failing to record a hit after the sixth. Despite a fresh look at the top, Baltimore’s lineup was stifled by four White Sox pitchers in an 8-2 loss, the team’s third straight.

Sean Burke struck out eight over 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball. Relievers Chris Murphy, Grant Taylor and Brandon Eisert did the rest, holding the Orioles hitless over the final 3 2/3.

Albernaz still drew encouragement from Henderson’s night.

“The line-drive double to left field is really encouraging, and then his second at-bat, working the walk is one of those signs, too,” he said. “When you have those two signs that it’s there, and that’s what we talk about with Gunnar, his at-bat quality and especially hitting the ball the other way, getting some balls to fall now. So, hopefully that starts kicking in for him, knowing that every ball he hits is not going to be an out, so hopefully that eases his mind a little bit.”

Rutschman drove in the Orioles’ only two runs of the game, both on sac flies.

Time and time again this season, the O’s have struggled to play a complete game.

“That’s keeping me up at night,” Albernaz said.

The poor offensive showing overshadowed a gutsy effort from starter Shane Baz, who tossed 109 pitches and allowed two runs over seven innings.

A two-run, 27-pitch third inning threatened to derail Baz’s outing early. The frame began with a walk to the 8-hole hitter, Chase Meidroth, who scored on an RBI single by first baseman Jacob Gonzalez.

That turned the lineup over, and Gonzalez took third base on a flyout by leadoff hitter Sam Antonacci. Baz then walked third baseman Miguel Vargas, who stole second.

Still, the righty was close to escaping with just one run allowed. He struck out shortstop Colson Montgomery and induced a weak grounder from catcher Kyle Teel. But a charging Henderson couldn’t field it cleanly as Gonzalez crossed the plate. An overeager Vargas was thrown out trying to score from second on the infield single.

Baz settled down quickly after that. He kept Chicago off the scoreboard over the next four frames, finishing with his third quality start this month.

Baz’s 109 pitches were a career high. They were also a season high for any Orioles starter.

He appreciated the fact that Albernaz let him go that long.

“I was emptying the tank, for sure,” he said. “I’ve said it a couple times, but just trying to earn that trust from him. And obviously, I want to stay in the game as long as I can. If they want me to throw 150 pitches, I’ll do it. But yeah, it was just kind of one of those outings that I feel like got better after the third, fourth inning where I started to execute a lot and just attacking better.”

The 27-year-old left the mound in a tie game, greeted by a standing ovation. Baltimore’s relievers didn’t take long to let the air out of the balloon, however.

Grant Wolfram failed to get through the eighth inning, allowing the White Sox to take the lead on a Montgomery double. He was charged with another run when Rico Garcia served up an RBI single to Randal Grichuk, pushing Chicago’s lead to 4-2.

The balloon was flat by the time Yennier Cano, who hadn’t given up an earned run all June, failed to get through a four-run ninth.

The bullpen was not helped out by the defense. Henderson failed to scoop a Montgomery grounder on what was ruled a double. An error by third baseman Blaze Alexander led to a run.

Even the usually sure-handed Rutschman failed to secure a crucial out in the eighth, erasing a potential outfield assist from Colton Cowser. Meidroth, attempting to score from second base on a single, appeared to have been gunned down by a laser of a throw from Cowser. But Rutschman couldn’t hang onto the ball on the tag.

“We’ve got to clean up the back half of the game defensively and a lot of other areas,” said Albernaz.

As the Orioles (39-47) pull every lever possible to turn things around, Monday’s loss was another exercise in futility.