Pitcher Eflin pitches seven scoreless innings, leading Orioles to a 2-1 victory over White Sox
Baltimore, MD — Zach Eflin delivered a stellar performance on Friday, pitching seven shutout innings and helping secure a 2-1 victory for the Baltimore Orioles over the Chicago White Sox. The right-hander struck out six batters and walked just one, lowering his season ERA to 4.46 in the process.
Ramón Urías broke the scoreless deadlock in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly off Sean Burke. Ryan Mountcastle then stole home on a double steal, but exited the game in the eighth inning due to right hamstring discomfort.
Bryan Baker was flawless in his eighth-inning appearance, while Felix Bautista gave up an RBI double to Andrew Benintendi in the ninth but managed to escape with his ninth save, stranding two runners. The game, which was initially scheduled for 7:05 PM, was moved up to 4:30 PM due to expected inclement weather.
The win brought Baltimore's record to 27-22, while the loss sent Chicago's road record tumbling to a dismal .200 (6-24). Burke took the loss, his sixth of the season, after pitching six innings following an outing by Jared Shuster.
The key moment of the game came in the seventh inning when Miguel Vargas singled and Benintendi walked, putting runners on first and second with one out. Eflin managed to escape the jam by striking out Luis Robert Jr. swinging and Joshua Palacios Jr. looking on a 3-2 cutter that was just beyond the outside corner of the strike zone, according to home plate umpire D.J. Rayburn.
Eflin came close to pitching his fourth career shutout, getting within six batters before surrendering a run in the ninth. His last nine-inning shutout came on May 11, 2019, helping the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-0 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Looking ahead, Chicago right-hander Davis Martin (2-5, 3.45 ERA) will aim for his fourth consecutive quality start on Saturday. He will face Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer (4-5-, 5.02), who is seeking consecutive wins following a strong outing against the Boston Red Sox last Sunday.
- In Toronto, the news headlines might feature the exciting baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox, with a focus on the arts scene showing a brief intermission in local sports coverage due to the unexpected weather.
- Perhaps, some interested fans in the arts community in Toronto might be following sports news, as they eagerly await the upcoming pitching matchup between Davis Martin and Dean Kremer, hoping for an outstanding competitive outing similar to Zach Eflin's recent stellar performance.
- Concurrently, with baseball and sports enthusiasts glued to their screens watching the MLB game, weather updates may occasionally pop up, providing forecasts for both Baltimore and Toronto, due to shared excitement for the sport among fans across cities.
