The Baltimore Orioles held on to beat the Chicago White Sox 8-6 on Thursday night, with the game ending on a controversial runner interference call. The crew chief said the umpire had no choice but to make the call, but MLB says that might not be the case.

With two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Andrew Benintendi popped up. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson caught the ball — umpires had called the infield fly rule — for the second out, then third-base umpire Junior Valentine ruled that Andrew Vaughn interfered with Henderson on the play.

After the game, crew chief Adrian Johnson said there is no discretion when a baserunner appears to make incidental contact with a fielder — even if the play results in a defensive out.

Brutal ending to this Orioles-White Sox game. 😬

(🎥: @NBCSWhiteSox)pic.twitter.com/mRL319faFT

— theScore (@theScore) May 24, 2024

“If he hinders the fielder in the attempt to field a batted ball, intent is not required and it’s interference,” Johnson said. “When you see the interference, you call it.”

Rule 6.01(a) seems to support that: “A runner who is adjudged to have hindered a fielder who is attempting to make a play on a batted ball is out whether it was intentional or not.”

But a source told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers that MLB reached out to the White Sox after the game to say the umpires do have discretion on that play and that interference didn’t have to be called.

“It was a big surprise,” said Vaughn, who was the runner at second and ruled out. “I don’t feel like he was deterred from making a play. It was a high popup. We were all reading it. As a runner, I’ve got to read it and make sure I can get back to the bag.”

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol argued vehemently with umpires at the conclusion of the stunning final sequence.

There certainly was confusion, and the play ended the rally for the White Sox, who had scored four runs in the ninth.

“I felt like we escaped there,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.

The White Sox, who have won only once in their past seven games, will try again to gain traction during their seven-game homestand that began Thursday night. The Orioles halted a season-worst three-game losing streak by prevailing in the series opener.

On Friday, right-hander Corbin Burnes (4-2, 2.56 ERA) will start for the Orioles, going for back-to-back victories after holding the Seattle Mariners without an earned run in six innings of Baltimore’s 6-3 win Sunday. He struck out 11 for the second time this season.

“I’m happy with how my stuff looks,” Burnes said. “Happy how the ball is coming out. Can’t really complain about it.”

Right-hander Chris Flexen (2-4, 5.48 ERA) will be on the mound for Chicago, trying to bounce back from Sunday’s rough outing against the New York Yankees. He allowed seven runs on eight hits in four innings in Chicago’s 7-2 loss.

“It’s just about executing pitches,” Flexen said.

In three career starts against Baltimore, Flexen is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA. The loss came in August when he was a member of the Colorado Rockies.

Information from The Associated Press and Field Level Media was used in this report.

The Chicago White Sox are already the worst team in the major leagues, so they didn’t need this: their rally Thursday night against the Baltimore Orioles being cut short by a controversial and game-ending runner interference call.

The play resulted in a double play for the final outs in Baltimore’s 8-6 victory.

With two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Andrew Benintendi popped up. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson caught the ball — umpires had called the infield fly rule anyway — for the second out, then third-base umpire Junior Valentine ruled that Andrew Vaughn interfered with Henderson on the play.

“It was a big surprise,” said Vaughn, who was the runner at second and ruled out. “I don’t feel like he was deterred from making a play. It was a high pop-up. We were all reading it. As a runner, I’ve got to read it and make sure I can get back to the bag.”

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol argued vehemently with umpires at the conclusion of the stunning final sequence.

Brutal ending to this Orioles-White Sox game. 😬

(🎥: @NBCSWhiteSox)pic.twitter.com/mRL319faFT

— theScore (@theScore) May 24, 2024

There certainly was confusion, and the play ended the rally for the White Sox, who had scored four runs in the ninth.

“I felt like we escaped there,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.

Crew chief Adrian Johnson said there is no discretion when a baserunner appears to make incidental contact with a fielder — even if the play results in a defensive out.

“If he hinders the fielder in the attempt to field a batted ball, intent is not required and it’s interference,” Johnson said after Valentine made the game-ending call. “When you see the interference, you call it.”

The White Sox, who have won only once in their past seven games, will try again to gain traction during their seven-game homestand that began Thursday night.

The Orioles halted a season-worst three-game losing streak by prevailing in the series opener.

“We’re able to breathe a little bit, thankfully,” said Baltimore’s Jorge Mateo, who hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning.

The Orioles produced 13 hits, four by first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

“We swung the bat really well,” Hyde said. “A lot of guys who had been scuffling a little bit put some really good swings on the baseball. We would have loved to see us tack on a little bit more.”

Still, the eight runs were the most in a six-game stretch for Baltimore.

The six runs allowed by the Orioles were also notable. That matched the second-most scoring by an opponent this year in any of Baltimore’s 30 victories.

On Friday, right-hander Corbin Burnes (4-2, 2.56 ERA) will start for the Orioles, going for back-to-back victories after holding the Seattle Mariners without an earned run in six innings of Baltimore’s 6-3 win Sunday. He struck out 11 for the second time this season.

“I’m happy with how my stuff looks,” Burnes said. “Happy how the ball is coming out. Can’t really complain about it.”

Burnes has worked at least six innings in his past five starts, though this will mark just his second road assignment since April 20. He has made three career appearances against the White Sox, going 1-0 with a 4.70 ERA.

Among the negatives for the Orioles from Thursday night is that they used five relievers, including three in the ninth inning.

Right-hander Chris Flexen (2-4, 5.48 ERA) will be on the mound for Chicago, trying to bounce back from Sunday’s rough outing against the New York Yankees. He allowed seven runs on eight hits in four innings in Chicago’s 7-2 loss.

“It’s just about executing pitches,” Flexen said.

In three career starts against Baltimore, Flexen is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA. The loss came in August when he was a member of the Colorado Rockies.

Information from The Associated Press and Field Level Media was used in this report.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Jim Hiller is sticking to the hard-nosed, defense-first philosophy that got the Los Angeles Kings to the first round of the playoffs — and no farther — in each of the past three seasons.

General manager Rob Blake introduced Hiller as the Kings’ permanent head coach Thursday, retaining the former Kings assistant who took over for the fired Todd McLellan in February and led Los Angeles to its third consecutive third-place finish in the Pacific Division and third straight early postseason ouster.

“Where Jim always seemed to come to the top was in the aspect that we’ve had time together,” Blake said. “We’ve seen him work … [and we’re] very comfortable, very confident in Jim’s approach to challenges. His presence in front of the group is very important to us. The way he can command the room and drive home the point that we make, the direction we want to go together, confident he can drive that home.”

With Blake and Hiller returning after weeks of speculation about their futures, the Kings’ playoff struggles clearly won’t lead to a reboot or a rebuild. Los Angeles was eliminated by Edmonton on May 1 in five games.

The GM and his first-time head coach remain committed to the style they’ve embraced with their 1-3-1 neutral zone trap. The system has made the Kings a nightmare to face, but L.A.’s players sometimes chafe at the regimented strategy — and even Hiller acknowledges it hinders the Kings’ offensive production.

“We’ve started the process of looking at everything about our game,” Hiller said. “We are a top defensive team in the National Hockey League. Have been for some years now. The identity of the L.A. Kings is a checking team that’s difficult to play against. We feel we have to find some areas where we can create more offense, but not at the expense of what our identity is, and what we’ve taken some time to create.”

Only two teams allowed fewer goals than the Kings (210) during the regular season, but Los Angeles was squarely in the middle of the NHL pack on offensive production despite a roster with expensive top-end talent.

“There’s teams that are playing in the NHL [conference] finals right now that play a 1-3-1, and there’s teams that don’t,” Hiller said. “The common theme is they play good defense. They check. It doesn’t necessarily matter what the system is. You’ve got to check within that system. We’ll look at the areas where we think, with our personnel, how we can maximize some more offense.”

That’s important, because the Kings appear to be stuck in a rut: They’ve lost to Edmonton in three consecutive first-round series after finishing the regular season with totals of 99, 104 and 99 points. They’ve stayed in this spot despite spending big money to add high-scoring forwards Kevin Fiala — who has 145 points in two strong seasons — and Pierre-Luc Dubois, who only managed 40 points in his dismal debut with Los Angeles after signing a long-term contract last summer.

Blake said the three weeks since the Kings’ ouster “have not been comfortable at all.” Blake retained his job even though the Kings haven’t won a playoff round in his seven seasons as GM, although they’ve reached the postseason four times.

Despite a roster frequently packed with top-end talent, Los Angeles has yet to advance in the postseason since raising its second Stanley Cup a decade ago.

“What we’ve come to realize is there’s a certain desire to win that needs to be raised within our team here,” Blake said. “And what that is, is getting a little uncomfortable. … It starts right now, right here, today, with me, with Jim, right down to our players. If that’s where we want to get to, that’s what we’ve got to do.”

Hiller was drafted by the Kings in the 10th round in 1989, and he eventually played 40 games with the team before being traded to Detroit as a rookie. Hiller has been passionate about coaching since even before his brief NHL playing career, and he gave special thanks Thursday to Jacques Lemaire, the Stanley Cup-winning coach and player who mentored Hiller.

Hiller got a three-year deal with incentives that could trigger a fourth season, Blake confirmed without giving specifics.

D.J. Smith will stay on Hiller’s staff after being hired as an assistant in February, and the Kings will hire a new assistant coach to focus on the power play, filling Hiller’s role under McLellan.