Mancini, Orioles fall short in comeback vs. Sox

BALTIMORE -- Luis Ortiz's first career Major League start ended abruptly, Trey Mancini homered twice and a comeback bid fell short in the Orioles' 8-6, series-opening loss to the White Sox on Friday night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Ortiz allowed three runs and didn't make it through the second inning, injuring his left hamstring trying to cover first base. The righty exited limping in favor of Jimmy Yacabonis, with two of the runs being unearned.

"Just going down to first base, I felt like it was grabbing," Ortiz said of the injury, which caused him to miss a month in Double-A earlier this year. "My hammy just didn't feel good at all, and it was just hurting after that."
Ortiz tried to shake it off, but he walked the next batter and manager Buck Showalter had seen enough.
"He was OK, you know? This was his first start in the big leagues, 22-year-old young man," Showalter said of evaluating the abbreviated outing. "I wish he could have stayed out there and continued to pitch. He's got late life and a good, sharp slider. He's got a chance to be pretty good."
• Mullins wins O's Minor League Player of the Year Award
While Yacabonis wiggled out of trouble in the second, the righty also allowed a two-run homer to Omar Narváez in the third that staked the White Sox to an early 5-1 lead. He was charged with four runs over three innings.
Mancini, who collected his first multi-homer game this season, tried to blast the Orioles back into the game. He led off the bottom of the second inning with a homer off Chicago starter James Shields, and he struck again with a solo homer in the fourth to cut the deficit to 5-2.
"Trey is a winning player," Showalter said. "He understands the grind and he embraces it. That's why guys like him, with the situation we're in, do well because they embrace the things that separate you. Whether he's hitting .290 or .240, he's always going to be engaged in the competition."

Those were the only O's runs until the seventh, after Shields exited. With Ian Hamilton on the hill, Corban Joseph drove in two with a pinch-hit single into center field, and rookie DJ Stewart scored his first career big league run on Yoán Moncada's error. Adam Jones brought the O's within one with a sacrifice fly, but that was as close as they'd get.

"I think for a lot of us, there is," Mancini said when asked if personal pride was important at this point in the season. "We all want to go out every day and do well for the team first, and then on a personal level you want to go out and get results that you worked hard for. We are going to go out there, we got 15 games left, and hopefully we can keep putting good at-bats together."
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Third time not the charm: After Jones' deep sacrifice fly continued the Orioles' scoring in the seventh, Mancini dug in against the righty Hamilton. But the O's designated hitter couldn't come through, striking out on three pitches to keep the Sox lead intact.

ROSTER MOVES
Prior to the game, the Orioles recalled left-handed pitcher Donnie Hart and right-handed pitcher Evan Phillips from Triple-A Norfolk. That depth should help the O's expanded roster cover for some of the short starts they've gotten in the past few days.
HE SAID IT
"To cut it short is not what everyone wants. It sucks, especially going down on an injury. I prepared for this day, and all I get was an injury. Not really good." -- Ortiz
UP NEXT
Yefry Ramirez is set to return to the starting rotation for Saturday night's game against the White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Ramirez has spent the past three weeks pitching in relief. He'll be opposed by Chicago righty Reynaldo López, with first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m. ET.