MILWAUKEE — The hits just kept coming and coming Friday against the Chicago White Sox.
Twenty-three in the game, to be exact, for the Milwaukee Brewers.
“It was like they found every hole,” Sox third baseman Danny Mendick said.
The Sox hung around for a while, taking a one-run lead into the seventh. But the Brewers sent 12 batters to the plate while scoring six runs on eight hits in the inning on the way to beating the Sox 12-5 in front of 30,931 at American Family Field.
“We took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh, and they just kept grinding out at-bats,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “Putting the ball in play, and they ended up with 20 ground ball base hits and I think 17 of them were singles.
“And just one of those days where everything found a hole.”
The Sox extended their season-high losing streak to nine games, allowing season-highs in runs and hits.
“It’s part of baseball, they took what was given to them,” starter Erick Fedde said. “They tried to hit the ball the other way where there were holes. Some credit to them for sure.
“You don’t accidentally usually get 23 hits but just one of those things. As a pitcher, if you’re trying to limit damage, balls on the ground are usually a good thing.”
The Sox got some big hits early. Paul DeJong homered — his team-leading eighth — and Corey Julks drove in two with a double to give them a 3-1 lead in the third.
The Brewers scored three in the fourth against Fedde, who allowed four runs on nine hits with eight strikeouts and four walks in five innings.
“Had traffic all day,” Fedde said. “They made me work. I think just overall they had a lot of good at-bats. They didn’t give anything away. They took good pitches and hit them where there were holes. Tough day.”
The Sox regained the lead with two in the fifth. Gavin Sheets collected an RBI on a sacrifice fly and Korey Lee drove in a run with an infield hit to put the Sox ahead 5-4.
The Sox still held that lead after Michael Soroka struck out two to get out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth without allowing a run.
But Brice Turang tied the score with an RBI single against Soroka and William Contreras put the Brewers ahead with an RBI single against John Brebbia. Christian Yelich drove in two more with a check-swing double down the third-base line.
Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick also had RBI hits in the inning.
Yelich finished with five hits and five RBIs, sending the Sox to their 13th loss in 14 games.
With a record of 15-43, the White Sox are off to their worst 58-game start in franchise history.
“Of course it’s tough,” Fedde said. “We want to win ballgames. Just keep grinding, piece things together. The bats were good for us today. We scored some runs. On our end as a pitching staff, we’ve just got to be a little better to finish it off.”
