Lance Lynn allowed three runs in the first inning, then gave up two more in the third.
It was no way to get the scuffling White Sox untracked Tuesday.
Losing for the fifth time in the last six games, the Sox got to within a run with a four-run third by stringing six straight hits against Zack Wheeler, but former Sox infielder Josh Harrison’s two-run homer against Jimmy Lambert in the seventh was the dagger in a 7-4 Phillies victory in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Harrison, the No. 9 hitter in the Phillies lineup, had a two-run single in the third and finished with four RBI.
The Sox (6-11) send Lucas Giolito against Bailey Falter in Game 2, hoping for a split and needing to win for their first chance at winning a series this season. The Phillies are 7-10.
Luis Robert’s two-run double and Andrew Vaughn’s two-run single were the run-scoring blows for the Sox. Robert (13 RBI) and Vaughn (12) lead the team.
But the Sox had two baserunners after the fourth against Wheeler and the Phillies bullpen. Lambert pitched out of a jam in the sixth in relief of Lynn to keep the Sox within one and after retiring the first two batters in the seventh, allowed a single to Jake Cave and a 399-foot homer to Harrison.
Sox manager Pedro Grifol was asked before the game if he’s hearing frustration from the fans, who endured a disappointing 81-81 season under Tony La Russa in 2022 and are watching a bad start in 2023.
“My experience on White Sox fans, I heard it from the other side [as a coach with the Kansas City Royals], passionate fans that know the game and when they scream something, they are making sense when they scream and what they are screaming,” Grifol said before the game. “I appreciate that.
“They have the right do to that. They pay money to come in here and watch baseball and it’s our job to provide good baseball. That’s what we are trying to do. That’s what we are working to do. I appreciate the fans here. I appreciate their knowledge of the game and I appreciate their passion for the Chicago White Sox.”