BALTIMORE (AP) — Adam Engel hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning and the Chicago White Sox rolled into the All-Star break Sunday with a 7-5 victory over Baltimore to complete a season sweep of the Orioles.
Andrew Vaughn homered twice for the White Sox, who have won five in a row and 10 of 13 overall. Chicago leads the AL Central by eight games over Cleveland.
“I think we’ve won games in a bunch of different ways this year with a bunch of different guys,” Engel said. “Guys are figuring out what it takes to win. Being the better team isn’t going to guarantee any wins and being the lesser team doesn’t mean you’re going to lose.”
The White Sox went 7-0 against Baltimore this season. It is the first time in franchise history Chicago has swept a season series of at least seven games against any team, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Pinch-hitter Trey Mancini’s two-out, two-run homer in the Orioles ninth made it 4-all. He’ll take part in the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night at Coors Field in Denver.
Baltimore has lost four in a row and is 1-7 in July. The Orioles have dropped eight consecutive games to the White Sox dating back to 2019, their longest skid in the series since another eight-game slide in 1989-90.
“It’s just a tough loss because you like to see guys battle back and win those type of games,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said.
Chicago swept a series at Camden Yards for the first time since 2005.
Yoán Moncada led off the Chicago 10th with a walk to join automatic runner Tim Anderson on base. Tyler Wells (2-1) retired the next two batters, but Engel went deep to left-center to make it 7-4.
“I kind of called it --- I’m not going to lie,” Vaughn said. “If you ask (bench coach) Miguel Cairo, I said, ‘Here comes a three-run homer,’ and it happened. It was pretty cool. I just felt it. I don’t know why. I felt it the bones. He’s been super clutch for us this year and that was a big swing.”
Matt Foster recorded two outs for his first career save.
Chicago was poised to close it out in the ninth after closer Liam Hendriks (4-2) struck out his first two hitters before Ramón Urías’ single. Mancini, perhaps warming up for his Derby appearance, connected for his second career pinch-hit homer and first since 2017.
Vaughn put the White Sox ahead 4-2 in the sixth. After reliever Paul Fry hit Engel and walked Leury García, Vaughn greeted Cole Sulser with a three-run drive.
Austin Hays’ two-run homer in the first was Baltimore’s only damage against Chicago starter Dylan Cease, who struck out six in five innings.
Baltimore starter Spenser Watkins allowed one run --- Vaughn’s homer in the fourth --- in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out four before being lifted after completing two turns through the White Sox order.
Anderson extended his hitting streak to 12 with a fifth-inning single.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: OF Eloy Jiménez (torn left pectoral tendon) went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run and played seven innings in left field Sunday for Class A Winston-Salem in the second game of his rehabilitation assignment. He served as the DH in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday.
Orioles: 1B Ryan Mountcastle left the game with a bruised left forearm after being hit by a pitch from Cease in the first. X-rays were negative. Hyde said he is optimistic Mountcastle will be ready after the All-Star break. … SS Freddy Galvis (right quadriceps strain) and RHP Hunter Harvey (right lat strain) could both return by the end of July. Galvis will begin rehab work in Florida this week.
O’S PITCHING WOES
Orioles starting pitchers have logged at least six innings in just seven of 58 games since lefty John Means’ no-hitter on May 5. Means, who has been on the injured list since June 6, has three of those outings. Baltimore starters have gone 16 games in a row without a six-inning stint, and made it through five just twice in that span.
The Orioles are 13-45 since Means’ no-hitter.
“We threw the ball well the first month and kind of hung around .500ish, and since the Means no-hitter we haven’t been able to stay in games on the mound,” Hyde said. “Our rotation is beat up. We don’t have good numbers. Our bullpen is taxed because of it, so a lot of concern there. We somehow have to get our starting pitchers to go a little bit longer.”
UP NEXT
White Sox: Chicago returns home after the All-Star break on Friday for a three-game series against the Astros. The White Sox suffered a four-game sweep at Houston last month.
Orioles: Baltimore begins a six-game road trip Friday at Kansas City. The Orioles have not faced the Royals since 2019.
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