Orioles face White Sox in matchup of slumping teams

CHICAGO -- The Baltimore Orioles couldn't wait to leave Yankee Stadium.

After a miserable weekend against the New York Yankees, the Orioles try to rebound when they visit the Chicago White Sox in the opener of a four-game series on Monday.

Baltimore (31-30) has lost four consecutive games by a combined margin of 44-9. The weekend was particularly ugly for the Orioles, who were outscored by a 38-8 margin and saw their team ERA rise from 4.39 to 4.76

"Sometimes, games, you're glad they don't count for more than one loss," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "The cliche thing is to say that a loss is a loss, but when we're constantly getting behind like that and having to make all these pitching moves, it's hard to get any continuity from your pitching or your position players."

The lost weekend in New York is part of a 6-14 slump for the Orioles, but center fielder Adam Jones believes it will turn around.

"Just keep your heads up, keep grinding," Jones said. "Obviously, it doesn't look pretty, that scoreboard doesn't look pretty standing out there. It ain't pretty, it ain't fun, but we all believe in each other.

"Let's go to Chicago, redeem ourselves and just flip the script. I know that's super cliche, but when you've got 162 games, flipping the script is something that applies."

"Flipping the script" involves Jones and Chris Davis hitting better. They were a combined 3-for-18 in New York.

The Orioles also played the series without Manny Machado, who has missed four consecutive games due to left wrist soreness. Machado took swings and fielded ground balls Sunday, and he likely will take batting practice before the Monday game.

Although their recent contests have been more competitive than Baltimore's, Chicago (26-35) also enters the series on a cold streak. The White Sox have lost four of their past five games and nine of 11.

Chicago returns home after dropping two of three in Cleveland. The White Sox concluded an eight-game road trip with 4-2 loss to the Indians on Sunday.

White Sox right-hander Mike Pelfrey (2-5, 3.80 ERA) will make his 10th start of the season Monday. The 33-year-old journeyman has posted a 1.69 ERA in his past four outings, during which time batters are hitting only .198 against him with a .261 on-base percentage.

Against Baltimore, Pelfrey is 2-0 with a 4.23 ERA in five career starts. He limited Orioles hitters to two runs in 5 1/3 innings in his most recent matchup on May 12, 2016.

This weekend marked a special milestone for Pelfrey, who celebrated 10 years in the big leagues. His White Sox teammates doused him with a beer shower after the Saturday game.

"Ten years in the show, that's hard to do," White Sox closer David Robertson told the Chicago Sun-Times. "You don't see many guys get there. I'm proud of him. It's awesome."

Orioles left-hander Wade Miley (2-3, 3.27 ERA) will take the mound for the 13th time this season and the second time against the White Sox. His first outing against Chicago was cut short after he was drilled on back-to-back line drives by Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia in the first inning. He left the game with a bruised left wrist after recording only two outs in the first.

Miley has a 4.39 ERA in his past five starts after starting the season with a 2.45 mark. On Wednesday, he allowed four runs and eight hits in 2 2/3 innings in a no-decision during Baltimore's 9-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In five career starts against the White Sox, Miley is 1/3 with a 5.81 ERA. He has given up 17 runs on 36 hits in 26 1/3 innings vs. Chicago.