MILWAUKEE -- The Chicago White Sox dropped a wild 10-7 game to the Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a three-game series.
How it happened: The White Sox’s late rally to tie the game in the eighth inning was negated on home runs from Milwaukee’s Elian Herrera and Khris Davis off reliever Zach Duke. It was a rough combination for the White Sox in the early going as the defense struggled while starter Jeff Samardzija was getting hit hard. Micah Johnson and Alexei Ramirez both had their struggles in the early innings as the Brewers raced out to a 5-0 lead after two innings. Samardzija gave up seven runs (five earned) on eight hits over six innings and now has a 4.80 ERA. Adam Eaton had four hits, as well as his first two RBIs of the year.
What it means: Samardzija gave up his fair share of hard-hit balls, but it was the collective team defense that caused the White Sox all kinds of problems. The Samardzija/bad defense combination showed up right away when Brewers leadoff man Gerardo Parra hit a rocket that ate up Johnson at second. Johnson also waited too long to start a double-play attempt, and there were multiple miscues by Ramirez, one that went for an error on a slowly hit ball and another when he failed to knock down a ball headed to center that gave the Brewers a run. But for sheer shock value, nothing seemed to top Avisail Garcia’s fifth-inning throw from right field that ended up in shallow left, allowing Carlos Gomez to completely circle the bases.
Outside the box: The White Sox fell to 2-12 on the road this season. They also have a seven-game losing streak away from home, including losses in all five games of the team’s last road trip. The last time the White Sox won on the road was April 18, when they rolled to a 12-3 victory at Detroit. The White Sox have been outscored 89-44 on the road this season, including Monday's game.
Off beat: It took 101 at-bats, but Eaton finally delivered his first RBI of the season. Expected to be a top-of-the-order sparkplug, Eaton entered with a .196 batting average but sounded confident before the game that he was close to turning things around. He then went out and collected four hits, including his run-scoring single in the seventh inning and an RBI in the eighth that tied the game briefly. He also scored a run and raised his batting average to .225 while lifting his on-base percentage to .282.
Up next: The White Sox will send left-hander Chris Sale (2-1, 5.93 ERA) to the mound Tuesday in the middle game of the three-game series. The Brewers will counter with right-hander Mike Fiers (1-4, 5.46) in the 7:10 p.m. CT start from Miller Park.