Hamilton, Abreu homer in Game 2, leading White Sox to doubleheader sweep of Orioles
CHICAGO — Chicago White Sox right fielder Jake Lamb had a 10-pitch at-bat in the first inning of Game 1 of a doubleheader against Baltimore Orioles starter Matt Harvey on Saturday.
Lamb struck out but took a lot away from the battle.
“I saw the curveball, I saw the heater, I saw the change-up, the cutter/slider,” Lamb said. “Now I know going into my second at-bat kind of where everything’s starting.”
The next time up, Lamb hit a two-run home run off Harvey as part of a four-run third inning as the Sox beat the Orioles, 7-4, in Game 1 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Sox completed the doubleheader sweep with a 3-1 victory in Game 2 in front of 20,029.
Center fielder Billy Hamilton, not known for his power, hit a solo home run in the fourth inning of the nightcap. José Abreu added a two-run homer in the fifth as the Sox won for the fifth time in six games.
With Saturday’s two seven-inning losses, the Orioles have dropped 12 straight.
Game 2 featured an outstanding pitching duel between Lance Lynn of the Sox and John Means of the Orioles.
Lynn allowed three hits and struck out seven in five scoreless innings. Means, who pitched a no-hitter May 5 at Seattle, allowed three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
Lamb and Yoán Moncada hit two-run homers in Game 1, while Abreu had three hits and three RBIs.
Abreu’s two-run single in the third inning of Game 1 gave the Sox a 3-1 lead. Lamb, who went 2 for 3, made it 5-1 with his third home run of the season.
“They were pounding me in that first at-bat, and he ended up striking me out away from a really well-located heater,” Lamb said. “That heater I struck out on (in the first inning) started middle-middle and took off to being a really good pitch low and away. Going into that second at-bat, I had my sights on where I wanted the heater to start and went from there.”
Moncada hit a two-run homer against reliever Shawn Armstrong in the sixth to give the Sox a 7-4 lead. It was his first home run since April 29. Tim Anderson doubled, walked and scored twice.
Sox starter Dallas Keuchel (4-1) allowed four runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and one walk in five innings.
“That was a tough one,” Keuchel said. “I don’t know. It’s weird right now. I’m definitely not consistent, so I’m very fortunate to get a lot of run support and I’m still waiting on the consistency to be there still. Check back in with me here hopefully in June. I’m ready to go on a run. I’m going to need it.”
Freddy Galvis hit two solo home runs for the Orioles. Keuchel surrendered three solo home runs.
“Two of them were really bad pitches, so they just put some good swings on them,” Keuchel said. “You never know with the wind here, but two out of the three were really really bad pitches, so that’s what I just chalk it up to inconsistency. ...
“I’m putting these guys in position to really take advantage of either mistakes and or hitter’s counts. Most of the time I’ve gotten away with a lot of misses, but today I was hurt by the long ball. Thankfully we scored seven runs and we got a win, but I didn’t put us in a very good spot one bit.”
Hendriks struck out two while retiring the side in order in the seventh for the save.
Game 2 was scoreless until the fourth when Hamilton homered to left with two outs. It was his first home run of the season and the 23rd of his career, which began in 2013.
The Orioles attempted to respond in the fifth, placing runners on second and third with two outs. Lynn struck out Cedric Mullins to end the theat.
Abreu provided insurance in the bottom of the inning with his team-leading 11th homer.
The Orioles loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth. Codi Heuer replaced reliever Aaron Bummer, and Hamilton caught a sinking liner hit by Maikel Franco for the first out. A run scored when Heuer hit Stevie Wilkerson, but the reliever got a strikeout and groundout to maintain the lead.
Hendriks returned for the seventh in Game 2 and stuck out the side for his 12th save.
