Davidson belts grand slam to carry White Sox past Orioles

[June 14, 2017]  CHICAGO -- Matt Davidson knew the ball was gone the moment it left his bat.

"You're never really thinking about a home run, you're trying to get a good at-bat together," said the Chicago White Sox third baseman of his first career grand slam on Tuesday. "(But) that one felt pretty good, I knew it when I hit it."

Left-hander Derek Holland allowed one run over six innings while Davidson's grand slam gave the White Sox a decisive lead en route to a 6-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The win was the second straight for Chicago (28-35). Baltimore (31-32) dropped its sixth in a row and eighth in 10 games in a frustrating run that has seen the Orioles drop to fourth place in the AL East.

"We'll bounce back," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "It's never as good as it seems and it's never as bad as it seems. ... Nobody's hanging their head in there, they know they're better than this."

Holland (5-6) snapped a three-game losing streak as he gave up eight hits while striking out five and walking a pair.

"(We had) big double plays when we needed them and made pitches when I needed to as well," Holland said. "The thing that's frustrating is the walks -- a leadoff walk and then a two-out walk. That's something all of us as starters have been working on."

Baltimore right-hander Alec Asher (2-5) took the loss.

Chicago led 2-1 heading into a decisive sixth inning.

Asher allowed a leadoff single to Jose Abreu, hit Avisail Garcia with a pitch and walked Todd Frazier to load the bases with none out.

That set the stage for Davidson, who clubbed his team-leading 12th homer on a 3-2 pitch to left for Chicago's first grand slam of the season and a five-run White Sox lead.

"You see the successful hitters, they don't swing on bad counts," he said. "I'm trying to learn from them and from all the guys on our team and stay in the zone. When I stay in the zone I do pretty well."

Asher was relieved after the homer. He allowed six runs on six hits, walked two and struck out one over five-plus innings.

Abreu went 3-for-4 with two runs scored to pace an eight-hit White Sox attack.

Baltimore took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Joey Rickard led off with a double to left, reached third on a sacrifice and came home on Manny Machado's one-out single to left.

White Sox third baseman Matt Davidson (24) hits a grand slam home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the sixth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Machado was tagged out at second as he tried to extend the hit to a double.

"Manny hit a ball and tried to push it (and was) barely out at second," Showalter said. "We had some good at-bats there, some good at-bats to set up those situation, too. But we couldn't finish it off with another good at-bat."

Asher retired the first seven batters he faced before walking Willy Garcia with one out in the third.

The White Sox then hit Asher for two runs in the fourth.

Melky Cabrera got Chicago's first hit when he led off with a single to deep center and reached second on Abreu's base hit to center. Both scored on Garcia's double to left center for a 2-1 White Sox lead.

The Orioles swept the White Sox in three early May games in Baltimore and take on host Chicago in four games this week. The Orioles are 6-0-2 in the last eight season series dating back to 2009.

NOTES: There was no official word Tuesday but Orioles slugger Chris Davis appears bound for the disabled list after suffering an oblique injury in Monday's loss to the White Sox. ... He was reportedly set for an MRI on Tuesday. ... Baltimore is 21-10 at home, the second-best record in the American League, but is 10-22 on the road. ... Chicago sends RHP Miguel Gonzalez (4-7, 4.89) on Wednesday night against Baltimore RHP Dylan Bundy (6-5, 3.05 ERA). ... INF Alen Hanson played at second and batted ninth on Tuesday in his first White Sox start since being acquired on waivers from Pittsburgh last Friday. ... LHP Carlos Rodon made his second rehab start for Triple-A Charlotte this week at Gwinnett, allowing four runs on five hits over 3.2 IP. He's been on the disabled list all season with bursitis in his left biceps. ... RHP James Shields allowed two runs on six hits, walked three and struck out six over five innings in his third rehab start at Charlotte on Tuesday.

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