The White Sox’ lack of pitching depth hurt them in their 7-2 loss Tuesday to the Brewers at Rate Field.
It was essentially a bullpen game for the Sox, who continue to look for ways to get through injured left-hander Martin Perez’s turn in the rotation. Perez is unlikely to return this season.
Opener Tyler Gilbert and Bryse Wilson held the Brewers to one run in the first five innings before things fell apart in the sixth.
The Sox led 2-1 behind first-inning home runs by Andrew Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr. before the Brewers’ Joey Ortiz led off the sixth with a single. After Jackson Chourio flied out, Ortiz stole second to get into scoring position. Isaac Collins walked before William Contreras’ RBI single scored the tying run and moved Collins to third.
Sox manager Will Venable then called on Brandon Eisert to replace Wilson. After Contreras stole second, Eisert struck out Christian Yelich for the second out. He walked Rhys Hoskins intentionally to load the bases before hitting Sal Frelick with a pitch to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead, and Caleb Durbin followed with a two-run single that made it 5-2.
‘‘[Wilson] did his job and kept us in the game,’’ Venable said afterward.
The Sox finally got out of the inning when Frelick was thrown out trying to score on Brice Turang’s infield single to second baseman Lenyn Sosa.
‘‘I can be a little bit more aggressive and trust my stuff with the lefties more instead of veering away from damage and attack those guys in the zone,’’ said Wilson, who allowed three runs, two hits and three walks in 3⅓ innings.
First-base issues
Each time first baseman Andrew Vaughn is penciled into the lineup, Sox fans want to know why Tim Elko isn’t there instead.
It might be a fair question. Entering play Tuesday, Elko was hitting .354/.432/.732 at Triple-A Charlotte. Conversely, Vaughn was struggling, batting .157/.202/.275 for the Sox.
General manager Chris Getz, however, doesn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to call up Elko. He lauded Elko’s hard-hit rate and leadership qualities and said the organization is ‘‘happy with [his] development . . . and know at some point he could join us here in Chicago.’’
‘‘Primarily, we’re focused on players in our system that we feel are going to be part of our future, and their development is the priority,’’ Getz said. ‘‘If that means we bring them up, then so be it.’’
Getz said the Sox are more focused on supporting Vaughn.
‘‘I know he wants greater results for the White Sox and for himself,’’ Getz said. ‘‘And we expect more out of him. Our job is to get the most out of each player, and we know that there’s more in the tank for Andrew.’’
Injury updates
Catcher Korey Lee (sprained left ankle), outfielder Mike Tauchman (strained right hamstring) and outfielder Austin Slater (torn meniscus in right knee) are still weeks away from returning, Getz said. He said the swelling in Lee’s ankle is better.
• Infielder Josh Rojas (hairline fracture in big toe) started a rehab assignment at Charlotte.
• Infielder Chase Meidroth (inflammation in right thumb) is expected to return to the lineup sometime this week.