BALTIMORE _ For four innings Monday night at Camden Yards, it seemed as if Orioles right-hander David Hess had rediscovered whatever he had working for him on the month's first day in Toronto. The fifth frame, though, looked more like the three weeks since.
Hess cruised through four one-hit innings against the Chicago White Sox before running into trouble and barrels in the fifth inning of the Orioles' 12-2 defeat. Needing only 44 pitches to get through four innings, Hess struck out three of the first four batters he faced and retired the first seven overall before Yolmer Sanchez grounded a single to the left of second base, a spot vacated with the Orioles shifted to the right side. That was Chicago's lone base runner through four innings as Hess evoked memories of his April 1 start against the Toronto Blue Jays, when his outing ended after 6 1/3 no-hit innings.
But the fifth inning Monday matched the styling of Hess' three starts that have followed, appearances that featured seven home runs allowed and a 9.24 ERA.
It began with a double by Tim Anderson on an elevated slider, but it wasn't the last Hess threw. After Anderson took third on a passed ball and Nicky Delmonico walked, James McCann redirected a slider that found too much of the zone for a 1-2 count, sending it a projected 421 feet as the three-run shot broke a scoreless tie. It was the eighth home run allowed by Hess this season, tied for the most in the American League, and the 40th the Orioles have given up at Camden Yards in 2019.
The White Sox were not done with him. Jose Abreu punctuated the inning with an RBI single at 108 mph.
Yonder Alonso's subsequent lineout ended Hess' 32-pitch fifth inning. He needed only five in the fourth.
Since that night in Toronto when manager Brandon Hyde pulled Hess after 82 pitches, Hess has gotten just two outs after five innings across four starts, throwing no more than 88 pitches in any of them.
On a day the Orioles sent down a youngster struggling offensively but producing defensively in center fielder Cedric Mullins, another doing the same, shortstop Richie Martin, showed the give-and-take of an aggressive defensive approach.
The positive came in Hess' troublesome fifth. Two batters after McCann's home run, Ryan Cordell doubled. He then tried to take third on a grounder to Martin, but the Rule 5 draftee promptly shifted his footing and threw to third baseman Hanser Alberto for the fielder's choice out.
A similar play ensued in the seventh. With two more Chicago runs already home in the inning on an Abreu home run off Tanner Scott, Alonso doubled, then headed toward third when Anderson grounded to Martin. This time, Martin rushed the throw, which sailed above Alberto as Alonso came home.
Martin, who also had a hard grounder slip between his legs for an error in the sixth, went 0 for 4 at the plate and is hitting .167 in his rookie season.
Trey Mancini entered Monday second in the American League with 15 extra-base hits. He added another with two outs in the fifth inning, this one an RBI double to score Jonathan Villar.
Pedro Severino kept his hot bat going as well, homering off spring Oriole Josh Osich in the ninth. He has now homered in three straight starts.
Miguel Castro had another rough outing, allowing seven base runners and four runs while recording only two outs.
Castro has a 9.26 ERA in 2019, having allowed 12 runs in 11 2/3 innings. His rough outing pushed Chicago's lead to 12-1 and prompted Hyde to use a position player to pitch the ninth for the third time in 11 home games.
Jesus Sucre delivered, pitching a 1-2-3 inning in his sixth career pitching appearances. It was the 12th time in Orioles history a position player has pitched; 25 percent have come in 2019 as Sucre joined Hanser Alberto on April 7 against the New York Yankees and Chris Davis on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins.
