Orioles' Colton Cowser homers, Kyle Bradish dices up White Sox in 4-1 win

Matt Weyrich, The Baltimore Sun on Sep 15, 2025

Published in Baseball

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CHICAGO — Three-game losing streak? Nothing a date with the Chicago White Sox can’t fix.

Colton Cowser launched a go-ahead three-run home run in the sixth inning and Kyle Bradish struck out nine as the Baltimore Orioles beat Chicago 4-1 on Monday night to end their skid. The victory staved off mathematical elimination from the playoffs, at least for a night, with Baltimore (70-80) entering the game one loss away from locking in an early offseason.

But in a season when victories must be savored for how difficult they’ve been to come by, the Orioles played nine clean innings against a lowly opponent Monday. Cowser homered for the second straight game, taking left-hander Sean Burke deep to the opposite field for his 15th home run of the season. Though he’s struggled with consistency in an injury-riddled season, Cowser showed he’s still capable of driving the ball with authority when he runs into one.

The blast put Bradish in line for the win after he allowed one run in five innings, exiting after hitting his prescribed pitch limit with 88 pitches (55 strikes). The right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.45 in four starts since returning from Tommy John elbow surgery in late August.

Bradish ran into some early trouble, allowing a first-inning run on an RBI single by third baseman Curtis Mead, but he was still missing bats early. He recorded seven of his first nine outs on strikeouts and finished with 17 whiffs, one short of his career high set Sept. 20, 2023 in a six-inning outing against the Houston Astros.

The Orioles’ deficit didn’t last long as Jeremiah Jackson tied things back up in the third with an RBI single that scored Samuel Basallo from second base. Jackson’s 19 RBIs since his MLB debut Aug. 1 are tied with Gunnar Henderson for the most on the Orioles over that span.

After Cowser put them in front for good, the Orioles’ bullpen put an ugly weekend in Toronto behind them with four scoreless innings. Kade Strowd took over for Bradish and struck out two in a quick sixth and Dietrich Enns recorded the unconventional three-inning save as he faced the minimum for his second save of the season and fourth of his career.

Instant analysis

Cowser is fighting just to keep his batting average over .200 right now and his strikeout rate is among the worst in the league, so there are plenty of holes he needs to fix in his swing.

But it’s still far too early to give up on the 2021 No. 5 overall pick. Since the start of last season, Cowser is tied with Henderson for the most opposite-field home runs on the team with six. His raw power and potential on defense offer plenty of hope that he can live up to his lofty potential. Even if he doesn’t, there’s still enough in the profile for Cowser to be a useful player.

The Orioles are weighing whether to give Cowser the keys to the starting center field job, and for good reason. He still has work to do to become a reliable every day player, but his upside is worth the gamble.

On deck

After skipping his last start with a forearm injury, Dean Kremer returns to the Orioles’ rotation Tuesday to face off against right-hander Shane Smith. Tyler Wells will follow on Wednesday to keep Baltimore’s six-man rotation on turn.

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