Rutschman’s pinch-hit single, Henderson’s heroics give Orioles a 6-4 win over White Sox

CHICAGO—Adley Rutschman’s two-run, pinch-hit single in the eighth inning broke a 4-4 tie and gave the Orioles a 6-4 win in the rain.

After the start of Friday night’s game was delayed by 41 minutes because of a threatening forecast, the Orioles took a 4-0 lead into the sixth.

Chicago managed to tie the game at 4 in the seventh, and Rutschman’s second career pinch-hit lifted them a 6-4 win before 18,831 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Rain resumed in the sixth inning, and it continued as Ryan O’Hearn led off the eighth with a double against John Brebbia (0-3). With one out, Anthony Santander walked, and after Colton Cowser filed to center, Rutschman who was originally given the night off, hit a single to center that Andrew Benintendi attempted to make a diving catch on, but it got away, scoring two.

As Gunnar Henderson continues to hit home runs, his 2024 season gets even more impressive. He hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning on his 17^th

Henderson is just the third Oriole to hit at least 17 home runs in his first 49 games, joining Brady Anderson, who hit 20 in 1996 and Frank Robinson, who hit 17 in 1967.

He’s on pace to hit more than 50 home runs, and only Anderson, who hit 50 in 1996 and Chris Davis with 53 in 2013 have done that.

The Orioles (31-18) won their second straight against the White Sox (15-37) after losing three straight in St. Louis.

In the third, Henderson doubled and went to third with two outs on a wild pitch by Chris Flexen and scored on Jordan Westburg’s double. Westburg had been 0-for-13.

After Henderson’s home run, Santander’s double scored Westburg for a 4-0 lead.

Oriole starter Corbin Burnes allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings, striking out six and walking two.

With a 4-0 lead, he gave up three runs in the fifth on a run-scoring double by Andrew Vaughn and a two-run single by Paul DeJong.

Vaughn’s fourth home run against Yennier Cano (3-2) in the seventh tied it at 4.

Danny Coulombe pitched a scoreless eighth and Craig Kimbrel a perfect ninth. Colton Cowser made a leaping catch to rob Tommy Pham of a home run for the third out, giving Kimbrel his 11^th save and the 428^th of his career, tying him with Boston’s Kenley Jansen for fifth on the all-time saves list.