White Sox

The Orioles knew their four-game series against the Chicago White Sox would come down to pitching. The White Sox's vaunted staff is a major reason why they lead the American League Central, and none of their pitchers has been better than left-hander Chris Sale. The Orioles' advance scouting reports told manager Buck Showalter what he already knew: Sale might be pitching better than anyone else in the American League. To get to Sale, the O's knew they'd have to attack him - and his deceptive all-arms-and-legs delivery - early.

The Orioles open their four-game home series against the Chicago White Sox tonight at Camden Yards. The White Sox have won six straight and 21 of their last 31. Their 54-34 record since May 17 is the second-best record in that span in all of baseball, just behind Cincinnati's 58-35 mark. Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen will start for the Orioles tonight. Chen (12-7), who has won four of his last five starts, won his first major league game against the White Sox on April 17, allowing two runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings in a 3-2 win at U.S. Cellular Field.

Aug. 6, 1990: Right-hander Jim Palmer, the Orioles' winningest pitcher ever, is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., after being voted in on the first ballot. "Am I as good as a lot of pitchers here? Probably not," says Palmer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner who had 268 victories over 19 seasons with the Birds. "But I would have voted for myself. " Aug. 11, 1983: Lenn Sakata ends a lifetime of frustration against Chicago, punching a single for his first base hit in seven years against the host White Sox. "It does take a lot of practice to go 0-for-66 against anybody," says Sakata, the Orioles' reserve second baseman.

Kevin Hickey, the quirky left-handed reliever who pitched parts of three seasons for the Orioles including the storybook 1989 "Why Not?" season, died Wednesday at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago . He was 56. A Chicago native who spent three of his six major league seasons with his hometown White Sox, Hickey had been a pregame instructor/batting practice pitcher with the that club since 2004. He was discovered unresponsive in his hotel room before Chicago's Opening Day game in Texas this April.

CHICAGO - The Orioles made their way west Thursday evening riding the momentum of having won their first two road series of the season, heading to Anaheim for the last leg on their three-city, 10-game road trip. Anyone who suggested the Orioles would leave winners of five of their first seven games of the trip would have be deemed optimistic, but their play away from Camden Yards over the past week has the team sitting pretty atop the American League East at 8-5. The Orioles' 5-3 win over the White Sox on Thursday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field gave them three wins in four games here on Chicago's South Side, before traveling to Anaheim for three games against the Angels.

The Orioles are seeking a series win here in Chicago this afternoon in their final game of thise four-game series against the White Sox atU.S. Cellular Field. Nolan Reimold wiil get a day off in left field. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Reimold has had some neck spasms the past few days and was treated for them after last night's game. Endy Chavez will start there after starting in right last night. Nick Johnson will hit fifth today. He's still looking for his first hit of the season, starting out 0-for-16.

Orioles pitcher Tommy Hunter is undoubtedly well-regarded by the club's organizational brass. Even though he's only 25, he's pitched in big games and played in the postseason while he was with the Rangers. He's a guy who the Orioles would like to be a part of their rotation for years to come. Hunter is not going to overwhelm batters with his stuff. Instead, he relies on his fastball command to work hitters. But over his past two starts, Hunter has struggled. In an eventual 7-5 win at Toronto last week, he allowed four homers, tying a career high.

Orioles right-hander Tommy Hunter grasped for answers after his team's 8-1 loss to the White Sox on Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field.   The Orioles' run of success on the road - filled with late-inning dramatics, plenty of home runs and clutch pitching - came to a crashing halt Wednesday evening on Chicago's South Side. The Orioles, who entered the night 4-1 midway through their three-city, 10-game road trip, suffered their worst defeat on the road this season. Hunter struggled in his second consecutive start, allowing eight earned runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings.