Milwaukee Brewers Can’t Overcome 3-Run First; Lose 4-2 to White Sox

The White Sox beat the Brewers 4-2 for the second consecutive night, stealing the rubber game in the series.  After a rough start to the season, the Brewers are slowly rebounding, finishing their 10-game homestand 5-5.

Jimmy Nelson was hit hard in the first inning, but settled down nicely after that.  Melky Cabrera knocked in the first run of the inning on a sacrifice fly, scoring Adam Eaton.  Avisail Garcia and Adam Laroche followed with back-to-back home runs to center field, putting the White Sox ahead 3-0.

More from Reviewing the Brew

• Brewers: 4 Players Who Must Step Up for the Crew to Make the Playoffs
• Brewers: Yet Another Huge Promotion For Top Prospect Jackson Chourio
• Brewers Making Colossal Mistake With Corbin Burnes’ Contract
• Which Players May Be In The Final Month Of Their Brewers Careers?
• Brewers: Where Does Devin Williams Stand In NL Reliever Of The Year Race?

The White Sox pushed across a fourth run in the 7th inning.  With runners on the corners and two outs, Emilio Bonifacio hit a ground ball up the middle.  Scooter Gennett got to the ball but had it bounce out of his glove, and was unable to record an out.  Bonifacio was awarded an RBI single, and Nelson’s day would end.  His final line reads 6 2/3 innings pitched, 8 hits and 2 walks, 3 strikeouts and all 4 runs earned.

A night after striking out 13 times against White Sox pitching (11 from Chris Sale), Brewers hitters had another difficult night making contact against Jose Quintana and the White Sox bullpen.  Quintana pitched 7 innings, recording 10 strikeouts.  He scattered 4 hits and walked only 1, but was knocked out of the game after Hector Gomez tripled to open the bottom of the 8th.  The Brewers struck out 12 times in the game.

Gomez would make the score 4-1, scoring on Gerardo Parra‘s pinch-hit infield single.  Elian Herrera followed with a single to right field, bringing the tying run to the plate in Khris Davis.  Davis grounded into a 6-4-3 double play however, ending the threat and the inning.

David Robertson came in to pitch the 9th inning for the second consecutive night.  With one out, Carlos Gomez connected for a long home run to left field, his third of the year, cutting the lead to 4-2.  Adam Lind drew a walk, bringing the tying run to the plate for the second consecutive inning.  But Robertson would get the next two hitters out, preserving the save, his 7th of the season, and a series win for the White Sox.  Quintana improved to 2-3 while Nelson dropped to 1-4.

Both teams will take off Thursday before opening up a three game road series on Friday.  The White Sox will head to Oakland and the Brewers will head to New York to face the Mets.  Brewers (12-23) and Mets (20-14) start at 6:10 pm with Kyle Lohse (2-4, 7.03 ERA) squaring off against the 2nd oldest player in the National League (born May 24, 1973)  Bartolo Colon (6-1, 3.30 ERA).