O'Neill thinks the Orioles are close to putting together a real winning streak.
The Baltimore Orioles needed a bounce-back game, and they finally got one Wednesday, beating the Chicago White Sox 6-1 to end a four-game slide and salvage the series finale.
Baltimore had dropped the first two games and five of its last six overall, but outfielder Tyler O'Neill made sure the skid stopped there.
He saved a run with a diving catch in the fourth inning, losing his sunglasses in the process, then tied it in the fifth with a 430-foot solo home run, his first since May 16 and only his third of the season.
Adley Rutschman, Taylor Ward, and Blaze Alexander each added a run to help pull away.
O'Neill Speaks His Mind
O'Neill has not had an easy time finding consistency during his two years in Baltimore, so a night like Wednesday meant something.
Asked about the win and what comes next, he pointed straight at the talent sitting in the clubhouse.
"We all know how much skill's in this locker room," O'Neill said. "It's just a matter of time before we really string it together and get on a run for multiple games in a row. ... It was a good one out there today, so we're going to go to the off day, wear it a little bit, come back and take it to Cincy."
Manager Craig Albernaz pointed to O'Neill's work behind the scenes, saying it was "good to see him get something in the air pull side and drive it."
Starting pitcher Dean Kremer gave the win its foundation, working six strong innings in his first start back from a long injury layoff, and he later described how hard it was to watch from the sidelines.
Still Chasing Consistency
O'Neill's season numbers show how far he still has to climb.
He is hitting just .187 with three home runs, nine RBIs, and a .584 OPS through 52 games, continuing a stretch of inconsistency that has followed him since he signed his three-year deal with Baltimore before last season.
A concussion cost him more than two weeks earlier this year, and he has had to work his way back into a rhythm since.
Wednesday's homer was just his third of the year, but the way he got there, working a walk in his first at-bat before squaring up a good pitch from White Sox starter Noah Schultz, was the process Albernaz wants to see repeated.
Setting Sights on Cincinnati
The win moved Baltimore to 40-48 on the season, still fourth in the American League East, while Chicago fell to 45-40 and remains in first place in the Central.
The Orioles are off Thursday before heading to Cincinnati for a holiday-weekend series against a Reds team that has dealt with its own rash of injuries lately, then they return home for a six-game homestand before the All-Star break.
If Baltimore can turn Wednesday into the start of the run O'Neill is describing, that trip is as good a place as any to begin.
