MILWAUKEE — The White Sox were fighting mad after their 11th consecutive loss Sunday.
Well, at least one of them was.
The player in question was outfielder Tommy Pham, who was thrown out at home while trying to score the tying run on a short fly to Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich in the eighth inning of the skidding Sox’ 6-3 loss.
For a team struggling to score runs, third-base coach Eddie Rodriguez’s decision to send Pham on Yelich’s average-at-best arm was far from egregious. But Pham was set off when, after taking a path well inside the baseline but making a clean slide, Brewers catcher William Contreras celebrated by tapping his chest and saying something Pham took exception to.
‘‘One-run ballgame. Close play at the plate. Actually, it wasn’t even [expletive] close,’’ Pham said. ‘‘It was a shallow fly ball to left field. You would expect the left fielder to throw the baserunner out on that play.
‘‘The situation of the game, third-base coach sends you, you’ve gotta go. I’m nailed out at home . . . by a mile. I’m going to the dugout, and I hear the tough guy with all the hoo-rah [expletive].’’
Pham was restrained by plate umpire Edwin Jimenez, teammates and manager Pedro Grifol, and umpires on both sides of the field held their hands up to both dugouts to stave off escalation. Pham then took his position in left field shadow-boxing.
‘‘I’ll never start anything, but I’ll be prepared to finish it,’’ Pham said. ‘‘There’s a reason why I do all kinds of fighting [boxing] in the offseason: because I’m prepared to [expletive] somebody up. So you can take it at what it is.’’
The losing streak is the Sox’ longest since 1956, and they’re two shy of the club record of 13 losses in a row set Aug. 9-26, 1924. They’ve lost 15 of their last 16 games and lost for the 19th time after leading. They’ve lost five consecutive series and have been swept in three in a row — by the Orioles, Blue Jays and Brewers.
Paul DeJong hit his team-high ninth home run in the fourth against Freddy Peralta to cut the Brewers’ lead to 4-3. Gary Sanchez’s two-run bloop single with two outs in the eighth against Sox reliever John Brebbia provided the insurance runs.
‘‘I thought it was a pretty good chance for us to score a run, put the pressure on them to make a play,’’ DeJong said of the play on which Pham was thrown out. ‘‘Yelich came through with a nice throw. Questionable distance, but I like the gamble there in that situation.
‘‘I don’t doubt Tommy’s instincts or Eddie; they just made a play. It was a big moment for them in the game. They got a little emotional, and Tommy took it personally. It’s a frustration thing with the team, and it’s unfortunate it went that way.’’
Also frustrating was that Pham’s out was the second on the bases in the inning. Zach Remillard, pinch-running for center fielder Dominic Fletcher — who was banged up after crashing against the wall to take a three-run homer away from Contreras in the seventh — was out at third while trying to advance on a pitch that rolled away from Contreras.
Pham, whom the Sox signed in April and who likely will be dealt to a contender before the trade deadline July 30, said what he did and then walked away before taking further questions.
‘‘I like Tommy Pham,’’ Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. ‘‘He’s been criticized, I know, for a number of things, but he plays with intensity and competes hard.’’
The Brewers have engaged in bench-clearing incidents with the Orioles, Rays and Red Sox this season, and Murphy quipped: ‘‘Tommy is just trying to say, ‘I can play for you guys, man. Bring me over there. See, I’m just like you. I can do that.’ ’’
Pham can cool off Monday, a day off, before the Sox try to stop their double-digit skid at Wrigley Field, where they play the Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
‘‘I thought our guys battled, battled the whole series,’’ Grifol said. ‘‘We were in position to win games. We didn’t do it. Take the day off and get ready for the Cubs.’’
Daryl Van Schouwen
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