Major League Baseball

Wieters lifts Orioles over White Sox 4-3

Published Sep. 7, 2013 11:23 p.m. ET

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Matt Wieters struck out when he had a chance to put Baltimore in front in the eighth inning. He made the most of his second opportunity.

Wieters hit a two-run single in the 10th to give the Orioles a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

Baltimore was 1 for 17 with runners in scoring position before Wieters secured its third consecutive victory.

''I thought we deserved it,'' Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. ''It was frustrating, but we finally break through there at the end. Our guys did a lot of great things to set up those situations and we just couldn't get over that hump.''

Pinch-hitter Henry Urrutia started the winning rally with a one-out infield single against closer Addison Reed (5-3). Pinch-runner Chris Dickerson then went all the way to third on Nick Markakis' bloop single.

''I thought one of the keys was the read Dickerson made on the ball that Nicky hit,'' Showalter said. ''A lot of guys play that safe and don't trust their instincts and end up at second base.''

Reed bounced back with a strikeout of Nate McLouth, but Markakis stole second and both runners scored when Wieters lined a single into right field.

''Keep getting opportunities, that's all you can ask for,'' said Wieters, who struck out with runners on the corners in the eighth. ''Whether you succeed or not, you want that next opportunity to come to you and you want another chance.''

It was the ninth consecutive loss for the White Sox, who grabbed a 3-2 lead on Conor Gillaspie's pinch-hit homer against Tommy Hunter (4-3) in the top half of the inning.

''We battled back, Conor with the big homer,'' White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. ''Anytime you lose late, it always hurts. You just bounce back, keep going.''

Danny Valencia had three hits and Brian Roberts homered for the Orioles. They began the day two games behind Tampa Bay for the final AL wild-card slot.

The Orioles improved to 7-5 in extra-inning games while the White Sox fell to 9-14.

''I made a terrible pitch to Wieters right there on that last pitch and he made me pay for it,'' Reed said.

Dayan Viciedo also homered for last-place Chicago, and Paul Konerko had two hits.

After scoring in the third inning of Thursday's series opener, Chicago went 18 innings without a run until Konerko singled in Alexei Ramirez in the fourth.

Viciedo connected in the fifth, giving the White Sox a 2-1 lead, but Roberts went deep in the bottom half, tying the game with Baltimore's major league-leading 192nd homer.

Each team then had its chances to move in front, but couldn't come up with a clutch hit.

''There was a lot of Houdini stuff going on in there,'' Ventura said of his pitchers. ''They'd get in trouble and work their way out of it. With the way it was going today, you almost figured Reed was going to do the same thing, but it just didn't happen.''

Baltimore left Adam Jones at third with two outs in the seventh inning. The Orioles had two runners in the eighth, but pinch-hitter Wieters struck out on a slider from Nate Jones and Roberts grounded out.

Wieters sensed Reed might try to retire him with another slider in the 10th.

''I knew that was definitely an option,'' Wieters said. ''I just wanted to stay back and try to find some outfield grass.''

Hector Santiago threw five solid innings for the White Sox, allowing two runs and seven hits. The left-hander is 1-3 with a 3.80 ERA in his last 13 starts.

Baltimore left-hander Wei-Yin Chen gave up two runs and six hits in six innings. He struck out eight and walked none.

The Orioles grabbed the lead when Chris Davis doubled into the gap in left-center in the first, driving in Manny Machado from first. The hit lifted Davis' total to 124 RBIs, second-most in the majors behind Detroit's Miguel Cabrera.

''We have to keep winning,'' Wieters said. ''We have to win tomorrow and come here with that mindset. It's go time now. There's no more get `em later. It's go now and make our run.''

NOTES: Machado and Jones each had two of Baltimore's 13 hits. ...White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper missed the game after a reoccurrence of diverticulitis led to him being hospitalized. ... Chicago lost three at Boston and three at Yankee Stadium before arriving in Baltimore. ...Orioles starter Bud Norris (10-10, 4.01 ERA) opposes fellow RHP Andre Rienzo (1-1, 5.03 ERA) in Sunday's series finale.

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