Cowser’s 3-run home run, Bradish and bullpen lead Orioles to 4-1 win over White Sox

CHICAGO–What happened? For most of the second half of the season, the Orioles have been playing teams contending for playoff spots and generally held their own, at least until this past weekend in Toronto.

With just two weeks remaining in this disappointing season, the Orioles began a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.

The announced attendance at Rate Field was 11,020 and the loudest noises came from the 517 dogs sitting with their owners in center field for “Dog Day.”

Colton Cowser’s three-run home run in the sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie and led the Orioles to a 4-1 win over the White Sox.

Coby Mayo walked with two outs against Chicago’s Steven Wilson (2-2). Left-hander Tyler Alexander was brought in to face three Oriole left-handed hitters — Samuel Basallo, Cowser and Jackson Holliday.

Basallo singled, and Cowser hit his 15^th home run to give the Orioles a 4-1 lead. Holliday followed with a double.

“You’re trying to run that game right there to win the game, but you’re also trying to make sure our young left-handed hitters take the at-bats and have some success, just because in the past that’s been kind of the Achilles’ heel for us,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said.

Kyle Bradish (1-1) started for the fourth time and allowed a run on four hits in five innings, walking four and striking out eight.

“First of all, we won, so I’m happy about that,” Bradish said. “It was kind of frustrating just coming out the gates good, having to walk four guys, kind of lost command through that third inning. But overall kept the team in it, limited damage and we won. So, it was good.”

Chicago (57-94) scored a run in the first on an RBI single by Curtis Mead. The Orioles (70-80), who lost all three games to the Blue Jays over the weekend, tied it on Jeremiah Jackson’s third-inning single.

The last time Bradish started in Chicago, he pitched seven hitless innings on May 26^th, 2024. A few weeks later, he needed Tommy John surgery.

Kade Strowd pitched a spotless sixth inning. Dietrich Enns retired all nine batters he faced for a three-inning save, his second of the season.

How difficult has this season been for Cowser? Cowser is batting only .202 and has 114 strikeouts and 15 home runs in 82 games.

The 25-year-old outfielder missed two months after fracturing his left thumb on a headfirst dive into first base in Toronto in the season’s first series. He also missed time last month when he suffered a concussion after hitting his head on the left field wall in Philadelphia.

“I would say this year’s been a pretty adverse year for me and the team as well,” he said. “You know just starting out, going on the IL for two months, coming back, working through some injuries, some swing stuff, you know continuing the play through it.

“It’s been pretty tough to find a rhythm I would say but you know messing around and you know feels like I’m either striking out or hitting a home run right now. I sure as heck would like to stop striking out, but I think this last week or so has been better, seen a lot of pitches, you know I feel like I saw six to eight pitches an at-bat tonight. But I think it’s some of those things, right now it’s the early swings and counts, some foul balls on pitches I should be hitting.”

How impressive has Enns been? At 34, Enns is still technically a rookie, and the Orioles have given the left-hander his first true opportunity in the big leagues. He was acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline.

He struck out four of his nine batters.

“What a neat story,” Mansolino said. “Kind of where he was before, and then going overseas, and then coming back to Detroit, coming over in the trade.

“Remembering the trade deadline day. It was a lot that day, losing so many of our guys, and then we got the call that we got Dietrich Enns, and I probably didn’t really get that excited at the time, but boy am I excited right now. He’s really good, and I think he’s definitely kind of forcing his way onto this thing going forward. He’s been tough.”

What does it mean? The win prevented the Orioles from being eliminated from the postseason.

What’s the stat of the day? Bradish’s win was his first since June 8th, 2024.

What’s the word? “I feel good, feel healthy. Obviously, still working through a lot of things but we’re battling through that and that’s part of coming off a long-term injury.”-Bradish on how he feels after four starts. 

What’s next? Dean Kremer (9-10, 4.43) will face Shane Smith (6-7, 3.78) on Tuesday night at 7:40.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com