The team that can’t hold a lead: Brewers 3, White Sox 2

Jesse Scholtens had himself a night, until he didn’t.

As a result, the White Sox dropped their second straight to Milwaukee, after a solid outing from the pitching staff and a spark of offense from too few players.

Scholtens opened tonight’s game by striking out the side, and did not let up until the seventh inning. He would go 6 1⁄3 innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits, walking three, and striking out five.

Hitting for the White Sox got started in the third inning by none other than Gavin Sheets. It would have been a single had Tyrone Taylor not dove for the ball, but instead Taylor’s unsuccessful attempt at the sinking line drive got Sheets an extra base to lead off the inning.

Elvis Andrus decided he doesn’t want to leave the building permanently after Elvis Night, as he grounded out to second base for an RBI and the first South Side lead of the night. It looked like Eloy might have gotten a hold of one later in the inning, but it was actually a line out to center fielder Christian Yelich to end the third.

Things proceeded to be awfully quiet until Yoán Moncada hit a solo shot in the sixth. Things were coming up White Sox ...

... until they weren’t.

What happened? Pedro Grifol did that thing where he left his starter in one batter too long. After a leadoff walk followed by a single, Brice Turang hit a fly out to deep center that got runners to second and third. Both the single and fly out were crushed just shy of 99 mph, so the inning went walk-crush-crush. Scholtens should have been removed after this, but instead Taylor doubled — at 102 mph — to tie the game up. Scholtens hit the showers, hoping he could get away with a no-decision;it was not the ending he would hope for.

Bryan Shaw came in and threw gas on the fire with a two-out RBI single to William Contreras to put the Brewers up 3-2. Even with a quality start to Scholtens’ name, he was now in line for a loss.

Lane Ramsey was tasked with the eighth and ninth innings and successfully completed the challenge. Cleanup hitter Moncada led off with a single for another multi-hit game. But the next three White Sox struck out swinging to end the game.

This weekend is the only time the North Side roots for the Pale Hose. White Sox wins meant the enemies of Wrigleyville could gain on their NL Central opponents. Instead, the South Siders decided to blow leads two nights in a row. Baseball fans of Chicago, north and south, get to go home disgruntled. At least there is an understanding that the White Sox are the problem.

Six Pack of Stats

FanGraphs

Pressure Play
Andrew Vaughn’s ninth inning strikeout against Devin Williams for the first out of the inning had an LI of 5.40.

Pressure Cooker
Williams was tasked with getting a save tonight, and a save he did get. His inning of work earned him a 4.24 pLI.

Top Play
It is no surprise Tyrone Taylor’s game-tying, two-run double topped the WPA board, at 22.1%.

Top Performer
Hoby Milner came into the game in the seventh inning to relieve starter Brandon Woodruff. His 1 1⁄3-inning scoreless outing received 22.1% WPA.

Hardest Hit
Yoán Moncada’s sixth inning solo home run came off the bat at 107.5 mph.

Weakest Contact
Eloy Jimenez’s ground out in the bottom of the eighth was nearly half the speed of Moncada’s homer, registering at 57.5 mph.

Luckiest Hit
Andruw Monasterio’s seventh inning single had an xBA of only .290.

Toughest Out
Andrew Benintendi lined out in the first inning, despite a .670 xBA.

Longest Hit
Hardest hit and longest hit both go to Moncada. His home run traveled a measly 430 feet.

Magic Number: 3
The number of games the White Sox have left against the NL Central this season. Tomorrow’s series finale and the last two games of the Crosstown Classic will be the last time the South Siders face their Central counterparts until Cincinnati comes to town in April 2024.