LDN - Sports

Castillo's slam helps stop Orioles' six-game slide

[June 15, 2017] CHICAGO -- Welington Castillo grounded into a fielder's choice when he came to bat with the bases loaded in the fourth inning of Wednesday's game against the Chicago White Sox.

But when he returned with bases full again in the sixth, the Baltimore Orioles' catcher found his groove with his first career grand slam in a 10-6 victory that snapped a six-game losing streak.

"I had this situation earlier," said Castillo, who also collected a career-best five RBIs. "I'm not afraid to fail. This game is about making adjustments. ... (White Sox starter Miguel Gonzalez) left me a fastball up and over and I put a good swing on it."

The homer was Castillo's lone hit, and Trey Mancini went 3-for-4 to lead a 13-hit attack for the Orioles (32-32) in a game that started 90 minutes late due to rain.

Baltimore starter Dylan Bundy (7-5) worked five innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits. He walked three and struck out four.

"We didn't pitch particularly well tonight," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "We were fortunate. There were a lot of balls that were hit hard, but we made some good plays. It was apropos that Dylan got the benefit of a good offensive night."

Both starting pitchers were hit for early runs and Gonzalez (4-8) took the loss, departing after five rocky innings. He gave up eight runs on nine hits, walked two and struck out three.

Chicago (28-36) saw a two-game winning streak end.

The White Sox had the bases loaded in the first inning and Tim Anderson -- fresh from a day off -- delivered a hit to left-center to score Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia.

The Orioles got one run back in the second as Mancini reached on a ground-rule double down the third-base line and scored as Jonathan Schoop lined a double over center fielder Willy Garcia.

Matt Davidson's second home run in two days -- a leadoff shot in the second inning on a 1-1 Bundy pitch -- gave Chicago a 3-1 lead. Davidson, who now has a team-leading 13 homers, hit a grand slam Tuesday.

"We got to him (Bundy) early and then he kind of got that confidence back getting that lead and cruised after that," Davidson said.

The White Sox scored twice more in the second inning. Yolmer Sanchez was hit by a pitch, reached third on Melky Cabrera's hit to left and scored when Schoop's throw to third went wide. Cabrera ended up on third and came home on Abreu's sacrifice to right to make it 5-1.

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The Orioles added three runs in the fourth, the first coming when Castillo grounded into a bases-loaded fielder's choice that scored Mark Trumbo. The bases remained loaded and Baltimore added two more when Hyun Soo Kim's single to right drove in Mancini and Schoop to cut the deficit to 5-4.

Gonzalez got into another bases-loaded jam in the fifth and Castillo made him pay with a two-out grand slam to center as Baltimore seized an 8-5 lead.

"He was working through some traffic a little bit and we were needing that out," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "Obviously nobody anticipated the big blow there. He wasn't able to get out of that inning without the damage, and he was done after that."

The Orioles added more against White Sox reliever Juan Minaya in the sixth inning. Adam Jones' single drove in J.J. Hardy, and Jones scored on Mancini's two-out hit to left for a 10-5 lead.

Pinch hitter Alen Hanson hit his first career home run in the ninth, on a first pitch from reliever Mychal Givens, to make it 10-6.

NOTES: The Orioles placed 1B Chris Davis on the 10-day disabled list following a right oblique injury suffered on Monday. ... Baltimore called up 1B/OF David Washington from Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday. He was batting .291 with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs in the minors. ... Orioles RHP Chris Tillman (1-4, 8.01) hopes to break a four-game losing streak as he goes against White Sox LHP David Holmberg (1-0, 2.74 ERA) in Thursday's series ender. ... RHP James Shields is expected to return to the White Sox following rehab work and start Sunday in Toronto. He was 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA in three starts until he landed on the disabled list with a strained back muscle. ... Chicago embarks on a six-game trip that includes stops in Toronto and Minnesota before returning for three games against Oakland, June 23-25. ... The Orioles head back home to open a three-game interleague series on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals.

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