Baltimore Orioles Daily: Solo shots power Birds to narrow win

The Baltimore Orioles rode three powerful swings and lights-out relief pitching to their second road win in four games.

Thanks to a solid start from Andrew Cashner and a few timely bursts of power, the Baltimore Orioles held on for a tense 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night. Two victories on the same road trip wouldn’t be a cause for celebration in most cases, but with the team languishing at 15-31, Birds fans should take what they can get.

The game was scoreless until the fourth inning, when Manny Machado took Hector Santiago deep with a massive shot to left field, his 15th home run of the year. He’s now tied with Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez for the American League lead, and his trade stock remains sky high.

Take a look at the big blast:

Mark Trumbo followed that up with another solo shot in the fifth, and Adam Jones added one of his own in the sixth. The White Sox tried to rally, managing one run in each of those frames, but the Orioles bullpen was rock-solid — the A-team of Mychal Givens, Richard Bleier and Brad Brach threw four scoreless innings to lock up the win.

The Birds will try to carry that momentum into tonight’s game, set to start at 8:10 p.m. ET. Until then, here’s what you might have missed yesterday.

Best of Birds Watcher from 5/21/18

Baltimore Orioles vs Chicago White Sox: 3 players to watch: This week’s series is a great opportunity for the Birds to improve their abysmal road record. Read along as I profile three players who have something to prove in the Windy City.

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Best of Orioles news and analysis across the web from 5/21/2018

Having rediscovered his form, Orioles reliever Givens rescues Monday’s game in middle innings: Givens had a great outing last night, throwing two perfect innings to earn his third hold of the year. After giving up six runs in his first six appearances in 2018, his ERA is down to 2.84, much closer to his career rate of 2.76. Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun has the story.

Free-agent-to-be Manny Machado takes center stage in Chicago: In this Associated Press story, Machado asserts that his pending free agency has not served as a distraction this season. That makes sense — it’s hard to post a .343/.420/.663 slash line when your mind is elsewhere.

Orioles front office is at a crossroads: The Birds have been shockingly bad this year, and their dysfunctional front office has done little to put fans at ease as they plot a path to the future. In this post, Brice Freeman of Camden Chat lays out the problems plaguing the Orioles behind closed doors.

Orioles notes: Darren O’Day elbow absence ‘has gone a little longer than we thought’: O’Day’s recovery has been slow, but at least he’s feeling healthy enough to try throwing again. Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun has this and more in his daily notebook.

Next: Orioles vs White Sox: 3 players to watch

Will the Birds keep it going against the White Sox tonight? Let us know on social media, and keep it here at Birds Watcher for more updates on the Baltimore Orioles.