The first inning should've been an uplifting one for the White Sox, because Andrew Vaughn answered Trea Turner's solo homer with a two-run shot of his own. It was his first homer of the year, and a progression on the strong contact he's making in the air to the pull field. The Sox went from trailing 1-0 to taking a 2-1 lead on Taijuan Walker.
However, if the pattern from the previous three games held, the White Sox already shot their wad. They're like blackjack players who are forced to stand after the initial draw. Holding a pair of fours while the dealer is showing a 10? Better luck next time.
The thing about the White Sox is that I never know how much I'm kidding when I tweet something like this ...
... especially when the White Sox post zeroes the rest of the way.
Indeed, the White Sox didn't score again, while the Phillies scored in each of the first four innings. They handed the Sox a fifth consecutive series loss, and they denied them their first consecutive wins of the year.
The season is 19 games old.
The White Sox have scored in just four innings over their last four games, and all of them have crossed the plate during the first third of the game.
Today: Two on Vaughn's homer in the first.
Tuesday, Game 2: A three-run first inning on Jake Burger's homer.
Tuesday, Game 1: Four runs on six straight hits off Zack Wheeler in the third inning, which cut Philadelphia's lead to one run.
Sunday: Four first-inning runs on homers by Gavin Sheets and Burger.
Anyway, that wasn't nearly enough for Mike Clevinger, who lost the lead three pitches into the second inning on a solo shot by Brandon Marsh, then gave up the lead during a 44-pitch third inning. It could've been worse, because while Nick Castellanos scored the go-ahead run with a two-out single, Clevinger also gave up a single to Marsh and a walk to J.T. Realmuto to load the bases, but Alec Bohm grounded out to dodge a kill shot.
Tanner Banks ended up surrendering the runs that buried the Sox an inning later, giving up back-to-back doubles that made it a 5-2 game.
Banks settled down to contribute three innings, and Keynan Middleton and Gregory Santos combined for five strikeouts over three perfect innings themselves. The bullpen threw six innings without issuing a walk a day after they picked up the final three innings of a shutout started by Lucas Giolito, so it might be starting to come together.
Alas, the Phillies bullpen regressed toward the mean, and even harder. Walker pitched into the seventh to take the load off the relief corps after a doubleheader, and Gregory Soto, Craig Kimbrel and Jose Alvarado finished off a scoreless series for their pen.
Overall, the Phillies bullpen threw 7⅔ innings, allowing just an Elvis Andrus infield single in the eighth inning while striking out 12. Vaughn had a great game, going 2-for-4 with three of the White Sox's four hardest batted balls (the other one died on the warning track in center field).
He just had little company. Of the 20 hardest-hit balls on the afternoon, the Phillies had 16 of them.
Bullet points:
*Lenyn Sosa made a nice diving stop and an on-target bounce throw to end the first inning.
*Romy González pinch-hit for Oscar Colás against Soto in the seventh inning and struck out. González fell behind 0-2 as he usually does, and Colás is probably better off hitting for himself.
*Clevinger suffered his first loss by giving up three runs over three innings, and he only generated four whiffs and one strikeout over his 75 pitches. At least he took the mound to less loathsome music.
