Taylor Ward hits 3 doubles to lead Orioles' sweep of White Sox in 5-3 win

Matt Weyrich, The Baltimore Sun on Apr 8, 2026

Published in Baseball

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CHICAGO — It might not matter where Taylor Ward bats in the lineup. He’s producing regardless.

Ward, hitting out of the No. 2 spot for the first time this season, racked up four hits, including three doubles, to lead the Orioles to a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox Wednesday. The victory earned Baltimore (6-6) a road sweep and pulled its record back to .500, securing the club’s first three-game winning streak as it heads back east for a six-game home stand.

Manager Craig Albernaz tweaked the top of his lineup Wednesday by swapping Ward with Gunnar Henderson at the top two spots, citing the desire to stack more right-handed hitters behind the Orioles’ star shortstop because opposing teams have frequently deployed left-handed relievers out of the bullpen against him. Henderson, who had homered in each of the past two games, went 1 for 4 with a double, but Ward was the biggest driver of the lineup’s production.

Though windy conditions likely prevented several balls from leaving the yard for both teams, Ward settled for three doubles that raised his season total to an MLB-high nine — all in the past eight games. He became the first player in Orioles history with at least nine doubles in an eight-game span and the first with eight since Nick Markakis in 2012. The only other previous players with eight were Brian Roberts (2004, 2009) and Mike Bordick (1999).

Kyle Bradish received a no-decision after allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over five innings.

The unearned run was of his own making, however, and it handed the early lead to Chicago. Bradish issued a walk to load the bases and showed his frustration, missing the throw back from catcher Adley Rutschman and taking his time to retrieve it. Second baseman Chase Meidroth saw his lack of urgency and dashed for home, scoring easily while Bradish threw the ball over Rutschman’s head in a panic. Bradish was tabbed with two errors on the play.

Bradish carries a 5.27 ERA after three starts to open the season, and the results have been underwhelming so far. The right-hander has struggled with issuing free passes, and his swing-and-miss rate is well below his career norms.

With closer Ryan Helsley unavailable after pitching each of the previous two days, Albernaz turned to right-hander Rico Garcia for the save. Tyler Wells, Grant Wolfram and Anthony Nunez each pitched scoreless innings to bridge the game to the ninth, and Garcia closed it out for the first save of his six-year MLB career.

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