There’s nothing like a matchup against the White Sox to get the Orioles back on the winning track. The O’s have taken the first two games of the series at Guaranteed Rate Field, and today they’ll look to complete a sweep of the American League’s worst team.
The results of this game don’t really matter for the team, but individual performances do. Tyler Wells will be making his third start since returning from the injured list, and so far he hasn’t looked at all rusty. He held the Padres to two runs
in five innings in his season debut and then twirled a quality start against the Pirates last week. Wells is fortunate enough to be facing a White Sox offense that, like the Pirates, has had its struggles this year. But no matter who he’s facing, it’s good to see him pitching well and looking healthy as the Orioles look ahead to 2026.
The O’s would also like to see Jordan Westburg get back up to speed and finish the season strong. Westburg returned from the IL last night and went 0-for-3 with two walks as the DH. Today he’ll be starting in the field for the first time in a month, manning third base and batting second. Jeremiah Jackson, who’s been cooling off of late, is bumped to fifth in the lineup.
Lefties Samuel Basallo and Colton Cowser have the day off against veteran southpaw Martín Pérez, as does righty-swinging Ryan Mountcastle. Alex Jackson gets the start behind the plate and — ugh — Jorge Mateo is playing center field. I’d have thought the O’s had seen enough of the Mateo-in-CF experiment already, but apparently they have more of a tolerance for shenanigans than I do.
Orioles lineup:
2B Jackson Holliday
3B Jordan Westburg
SS Gunnar Henderson
DH Tyler O’Neill
RF Jeremiah Jackson
1B Coby Mayo
LF Dylan Beavers
C Alex Jackson
CF Jorge Mateo
RHP Tyler Wells
White Sox lineup:
2B Chase Meidroth
DH Mike Tauchman
3B Miguel Vargas
SS Colson Montgomery
C Edgar Quero
1B Lenyn Sosa
LF Will Robertson
CF Michael A. Taylor
RF Dominic Fletcher
LHP Martín Pérez
