In a battle of teams reliant on the long ball, the Orioles do more in win over White Sox

The Baltimore Orioles provided a glimpse of what they do best Wednesday afternoon at Camden Yards: taking their walks.

But often, the difference between a win and a loss is whether they make opponents pay for those free passes. On Wednesday, the Orioles did. Their efforts at the plate, combined with six innings of one-run ball from Dean Kremer, resulted in a 6-1 victory to avoid being swept by the Chicago White Sox.

Baltimore finished with seven walks on Wednesday. Those led to four of the team’s six runs. In the fifth, Jackson Holliday started a rally with a one-out walk. The Orioles followed with three straight singles, a sacrifice fly and a run scored on a wild pitch to gain a 4-1 lead.

Leody Taveras walked in the sixth and scored on a Blaze Alexander triple.

“Great team win overall,” outfielder Tyler O’Neill said. “Awesome to see Dean back and throwing the ball. Boys came up clutch, a lot of RBI out there. Good hitting, good pitching, good defense today.”

The Orioles and White Sox have offenses that mirror each other. They have high strikeout percentages (Baltimore 3rd, Chicago 5th) and whiff percentages (Chicago 3rd, Baltimore 8th), rendering their offenses as boom or bust.

The White Sox finished with just one walk and four hits against Kremer, who was reinstated from the Orioles’ 60-day injured list ahead of the game. The Orioles also recalled right-handed reliever Cameron Weston from Triple-A Norfolk.

To clear space, they optioned right-handed starter Trey Gibson and left-handed reliever Josh Walker to Norfolk while designating catcher Dom Keegan for assignment.

Kremer hadn’t pitched in the majors since April 18 after suffering a right quad strain. His return added more depth to a starting pitching staff that had performed better in June.

But on the second pitch of the game, left fielder Sam Antonacci hit a solo homer that gave the White Sox an early lead.

Still, Kremer settled in, retiring 11 hitters in a row until he allowed a two-out double in the fourth. Kremer incorporated his sinker more into his pitch mix on Wednesday afternoon. And though he didn’t get much swing and miss, he jumped ahead of hitters.

Kremer was pleased with his performance, saying the quad injury didn’t affect his ability to do flat ground work, so he maintained feel for his pitches.

“Being on the IL, for me, I feel like a waste of space because I’m not bringing any value or adding to anything up here, not adding on the field,” he said. “So, that’s probably one of the hardest things for me in rehab was watching from a distance and not feeling like you get to be a part of something, but it’s great to be back, kind of start from here.”

With two runners on base in the fourth, O’Neill made a diving catch to end the inning and keep the game close. The Orioles broke through in the fifth.

Baltimore ranks 25th in the majors in zone contact percentage, meaning they aren’t the best at putting the ball in play. That doesn’t mean they can’t have success offensively. It just means they’re reliant on the long ball.

The five teams below them in zone contact percentage (Mariners, White Sox, Yankees, Athletics and Pirates) all ranked in the top 10 in the majors in home runs entering Wednesday’s game. The White Sox ranked second. The Orioles, meanwhile, were tied for 15th.

The Orioles had three walks in the first three frames, but went 0-for-8 in their other at-bats. They didn’t have a hit through four innings. Albernaz and O’Neill were complimentary of White Sox starter Noah Schultz who, at 6-feet-10, has a unique delivery.

Then, O’Neill, who hasn’t lived up to his billing as a power hitter, launched a solo shot off Schultz to even the score. In the dugout after the homer, the team serenaded the Canada native with “O Canada,” marking the country’s founding, which fell on Wednesday.

“When you’re facing a guy like (Schultz), which not many of our guys have seen before, and you look up and the hit column is zero, and then you tie the game up with one swing ... that kind of lightened up the mood,” Albernaz said.

The blast, O’Neill’s first since May 16 and just his third of the season, unlocked the rest of the Orioles offense.

Holliday walked two batters later. Alexander, Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman singled to push the Orioles ahead. In the seventh inning, Alexander added his RBI triple.

And for good measure, Taveras launched a no-doubter over the wall in left field, a reminder of what the Orioles’ offense can look like when it’s at its best.

“We all know how much skill’s in this locker room,” O’Neill said. “It’s just a matter of time before we really string it together and get on a run for multiple games in a row. ... It was a good one out there today, so we’re going to go to the off-day, wear it a little bit, come back and take it to Cincy.”