Jason Hammel struck out 10 and closer Jim Johnson fanned Alex Rios with the bases loaded Thursday to preserve the Baltimore Orioles’ 5-3 win over the White Sox.The game was briefly delayed in the top of the seventh inning when a young boy who appeared to about 4 or 5 years old slipped through a barricade and went running across the outfield. With the crowd laughing, White Sox left fielder Dayan Viciedo scooped him up and handed him over to a security guard.The child and his family were ejected from the game per Major League Baseball rules but no charges were filed, the team said.
“Safety is our No. 1 concern and we are happy that the child is fine,” White Sox spokesman Scott Reifert said in a statement. “Obviously it was a non-issue for Dayan who was able to field the kid cleanly.But going on the field is stuff we do take seriously. It’s not something we condone in any way,” he said.
Adam Jones hit his fifth homer of the season and an RBI double. He’s gone deep four times in the first seven games of Baltimore’s 10-game road trip. The two-run shot in the fifth was his first this year with a runner on base.The Orioles won three of four from the Sox and have won their first two road series of the season, including two of three at Toronto last weekend. Baltimore won just five road series last season.Hammel (2-0) matched a career high for strikeouts, doing it in just six innings. He worked out of trouble early, leaving the bases loaded in the first and third.Johnson earned his sixth save. He has converted 14 straight chances dating to last season.Hammel bested Gavin Floyd (1-2), who allowed five runs and six hits in six innings.Adam Dunn had a walk, an RBI double and scored. He extended his streak of getting on base to six appearances before striking out his next two times up, increasing his AL-high total to 21.Dunn singled with two outs in the ninth, moving pinch-runner Brent Morel to third, and Paul Konerko was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Rios struck out looking to end the game.
“It’s like you’re getting close and it’s just not happening,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “Eventually, those [rallies] will push through and it will be different.”
Jones doubled during a two-run first. In the fifth, after J.J. Hardy’s sacrifice fly broke a 2-all tie, Jones hit a full-count fastball from Floyd into the left-field seats. Hammel allowed doubles to Alejandro De Aza and Dunn in the third. Rios’ single made it 2-all and Alexei Ramirez walked to load the bases. Hammel recovered to strike out Viciedo and Tyler Flowers, preserving the tie.Endy Chavez reached base three times and scored two runs for the surprising Orioles, who travel to Anaheim for the last stop on their road trip leading the AL East.
NOTES—The White Sox announced a paid attendance of 11,836. All four games against the Orioles drew fewer fans than any game at U.S. Cellular Field last season. The series drew a total of just 50,653.