White Sox drop another tough one, losing to Orioles 4-3 in 11

So close, yet so far away.

That's been the White Sox throughout the trying season, and it was the Sox in Thursday night's game against the Orioles at Camden Yards.

Leading Baltimore 3-2 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the game appeared to be over when light-hitting rookie Kyle Stowers hit a foul fly ball down the line in left field.

Adam Engel, who came on in the eighth as a defensive replacement for Andrew Vaughn, dropped the ball, and Stowers stayed alive.

Two pitches later, Stowers homered off White Sox closer Liam Hendriks to tie the game and the Orioles won it 4-3 in 11 innings.

"I overran it," Engel told reporters. "The ball came back on me a little bit, didn't catch it. My job is to come in and play defense, especially late in games."

The Sox are one of the worst defensive teams in baseball, and it showed against Baltimore.

In the first inning, Adley Rutschman reached on Jose Abreu's error and Anthony Santander followed with a 2-run homer off White Sox starter Lance Lynn.

It was the first of 2 errors from Abreu. Reliever Joe Kelly later made a lazy throw to first base on Rougned Odor's bunt in the 10th inning.

Good hitting teams can overcome defensive mistakes, but the Sox do not fit that profile.

Batting leadoff, Vaughn homered on Orioles starter Jordan Lyles' first pitch.

The White Sox tied the game in the seventh inning and Abreu's RBI single in the eighth gave them the 3-2 advantage that should have been a win.

The Sox (63-62) were positioned to gain ground in the AL Central after Cleveland lost at Seattle, but they remain 4 games behind the first-place Guardians.

There was another loss for the White Sox as well Thursday.

Third baseman Yoan Moncada has been a solid defender all season, and he made a nice play in the second inning to retire Terrin Vavra on a bunt attempt.

Moncada appeared to tweak his left hamstring after charging in for the ball, and he left the game after the fourth inning.

Lynn pitched 6 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and a walk to go with 8 strikeouts.