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Oscar Colás raised his right hand as he rounded first base.
He stopped between first and second, and his Chicago White Sox teammates celebrated with him.
The rookie delivered his first major-league walk-off hit, giving as the Sox a 7-6 victory against the Baltimore Orioles in 10 innings Saturday in front of 32,091 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“That was a very important at-bat with a lot of pressure and then for me to be able to come through in that moment was very important,” Colás said through an interpreter. “It was a good moment.”
The Sox scored twice in the 10th to snap a three-game losing streak.
“It was great to see Colás get that big hit,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “We all know the talent. We all know what he’s capable of doing. He just needs to relax and enjoy himself and enjoy the big leagues.
“He’s got plenty of talent to play here. Overall it was a much-needed win, a team win. I love watching these guys celebrate on the field.”
The Sox won despite allowing 10 walks. They held the Orioles to 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
“That means our guys stepped it up when they had to,” Grifol said. “They got themselves in trouble but got themselves out of trouble as well. When you keep … a talented team like that to 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position, you are making some good pitches and doing some good things.”
Grifol said starter Michael Kopech “battled.” The right-hander allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and four walks in five innings.
“Felt good with my fastball and slider for the most part, they were the only two pitches I was able to utilize,” Kopech said. “It’s tough. You have a four-pitch mix but I have to eliminate two of them to pitch with my strengths, it’s going to be more of a grind day. It’s kind of what (Saturday) was.”
Grifol said Kopech’s outing was “a step in the right direction.” Grifol pointed out the relief outings from Tanner Banks, Reynaldo López and Jimmy Lambert over the final three innings as positives.
The Sox also had plenty of traffic on the bases for Orioles pitchers to contend with. They were just 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position, but all three hits came in the 10th.
“That’s what we are capable of,” Grifol said of the 10th-inning success. “There’s a lot of talent on this team. We just have to focus and let it come to us as opposed to expanding the zone a little bit.
“That’s what we did in the last three at-bats with runners in scoring position. We did a nice job with that.”
The Sox began the bottom of the 10th trailing by one run. Yasmani Grandal blooped a double just fair to left, his third hit, and pinch runner Romy Gonzalez scored to tie the game at 6.
Seby Zavala ran for Grandal and advanced to third on Jake Burger’s single. Burger had two hits, including a two-run homer, and three RBIs.
“Like I’ve always said, wherever they need me, that’s what I’m going to do,” said Burger, who started at third for the third time in four games for the injured Yoán Moncada. “I’m going to work as hard as I can and prepare myself as best as I can for every game, go out there and let the results do the talking.”
Colás was the next batter.
“It was definitely a very tense moment,” Colás said. “But I went up there looking to make good contact because I knew with the runner on third base if I was able to make good contact I was going to be able to bring him in.”
He lined the first pitch from reliever Logan Gillaspie to the right-field wall for the winning hit. It was another sign of growth for Colás, who was 0-for-4 heading into the at-bat.
“He’s going to be a really good player,” Grifol said. “And these are the situations that are going to expedite that. I was comfortable with him at the plate there and if he doesn’t get it done, the next guy will have to get it done. Absolutely.
“I just wanted to make sure that he just calmed down, let the game come to you a little bit and just do what you do. Just have fun as opposed to putting some pressure on you. Just go enjoy the game, let your talent play.”
