The Milwaukee Brewers will aim to continue their mastery of the host Chicago White Sox when the clubs meet in the final contest of a three-game series on Thursday afternoon.
The Brewers won the first two games by scores of 7-2 and 6-4 to run their winning streak against the White Sox to eight games.
Wednesday’s victory was Milwaukee’s third straight overall, one shy of equaling the team’s longest winning streak of the season.
The current streak comes after the Brewers opened a 10-game road trip by losing five of their first six games. Milwaukee has outscored its opponents — the St. Louis Cardinals for one game and the White Sox for two — 20-7 over the past three games.
“It’s still so early, so a little adversity here isn’t going to make us panic,” Wednesday star Jake Bauers said of the Brewers’ problems earlier on the trip. “We’re going day-to-day and getting our work in and trying to be as ready as possible.”
Bauers ripped a two-run, tiebreaking double in the eighth inning on Wednesday. The left-handed-hitting Bauers rarely faces a left-hander, and the big hit against Chicago’s Cam Booser was his first hit of the season against a southpaw.
“I was just looking for a pitch I could hit in the air and got a cutter that caught a little bit too much plate, and I put a good swing on it,” Bauers said.
Milwaukee’s William Contreras went 2-for-3 with two walks and one RBI on Wednesday to increase his hitting streak to nine games. He homered in Tuesday’s 7-2 victory over Chicago.
The White Sox have lost 23 of their 30 games this season and possess the second-worst record in the majors, after the Colorado Rockies (5-25).
The latest setback was Chicago’s third in a row and the 13th in the team’s past 16 games.
The White Sox also committed three errors on Wednesday. The first was an ugly gift in the first inning when Rhys Hoskins hit a slow, two-out grounder toward Gage Workman, and the Chicago third baseman let the ball go under his glove as Contreras scored to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead.
“We didn’t make the plays we needed to,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “It’s as simple as that.”
Miguel Vargas has been a bright spot for Chicago since emerging from a porous start that left him hitting .139 through games of April 21.
Vargas went 3-for-4 with an RBI on Wednesday and is batting .462 (12-for-26) during a seven-game hitting streak. He’s now batting .219 for the season.
“It’s been really nice,” Venable said of Vargas. “He’s had a good approach and his ability to have plate discipline and swing at good pitches. He’s really doing a great job of (making) adjustments, and it’s obviously working for him.”
Rookie right-handers Chad Patrick (1-2, 2.45 ERA) of the Brewers and Sean Burke (1-4, 6.00) of the White Sox will start Thursday’s contest. Neither pitcher has faced this opponent before.
Patrick, 26, has lost his last two outings, giving up two runs against the Athletics on April 19 and two versus the St. Louis Cardinals last Friday. He allowed four hits and two walks and struck out two in 4 1/3 innings in a 3-2 defeat to the Cardinals.
Burke has dropped four straight decisions after winning his first start of the season. He has served up seven homers in just 27 innings.
Burke, 25, lost to the Athletics on Friday in his last turn when he allowed four runs (three earned) and five hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked two in Chicago’s 6-5 loss.
–Field Level Media
