MILWAUKEE β Will Venable said after Thursday's 14-2 blowout that his team would bounce back. On Saturday night, the White Sox showed more fight β and still lost. Milwaukee scored three runs in the first inning, ran wild on the bases all night, and beat Chicago 6-1 at American Family Field. The Sox are 0-2 and have been outscored 20-3 through two games.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| MIL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | X | 6 | 12 | 0 |
Burke Buried in the First
Sean Burke's night started pretty rocky. Brice Turang doubled to lead off the bottom of the first, and the Brewers strung together three consecutive singles β Christian Yelich drove in Turang, and then Garrett Mitchell singled to center to score two more and put Milwaukee up 3-0. Burke added a throwing error in the second inning that led to a fourth run, and the Sox were chasing all night from there.
Burke settled down enough to post scoreless third and fourth innings, but finished with 4 innings, 7 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts on 91 pitches. There's swing-and-miss in his arm β the 5 K show that β but he couldn't locate early, and Milwaukee's lineup made him pay.
The Brewers Ran at Will
Milwaukee didn't need to hit home runs β they didn't hit a single one. Instead, the Brewers collected 12 hits (all singles and doubles) and stole seven bases. David Hamilton swiped two, Garrett Mitchell took two, Joey Ortiz grabbed two, and Yelich added one. Reese McGuire got the start behind the plate and had no answers for the Brewers' aggressiveness. Brandon Lockridge singled home a run in the sixth, and Ortiz drove in another in the seventh with a single to center.
Turang continued his scorching start, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored. Yelich was 3-for-5 with an RBI. The top of Milwaukee's order has been relentless through two games β Turang is hitting .556 and Yelich .556.
Murakami Makes It Two Straight
The one encouraging sign was, once again, Munetaka Murakami. The Japanese slugger launched a solo homer to center in the fourth inning β his second home run in his first two MLB games. He's hitting .400/.625/1.600 through two games with 2 homers, 2 RBI, and 3 walks. The power is translating exactly as advertised. Nobody else in the White Sox lineup can say the same β Lenyn Sosa is 0-for-6 with 4 strikeouts, Everson Pereira is 0-for-6, and Reese McGuire is 0-for-6.
Chase Meidroth was the other bright spot, going 2-for-4 with a double to push his early-season average to .500. He's been the most consistent bat in the lineup through two games.
Up Next
The White Sox look to avoid the sweep Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee. Anthony Kay takes the mound against Brewers right-hander Brandon Sproat. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. CT.