Martin's struggles dig early hole to begin key road test for White Sox

NEW YORK – With the White Sox feeling good about themselves after winning two of three games from the Dodgers at Rate Field, it was time to go into hostile environments starting at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night.

If Tuesday was any indication, it could be a tough week, as the White Sox were pounded by the Bronx Bombers, 12-2.

“[We have to] flush it,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “There were a lot of things in there we must clean up.”

What made the loss so bad was that right-hander Davis Martin, their No. 1 starter who was looking to be the first 10-game winner in the American League, was hit hard. He allowed a season-high nine runs in 3 1/3 innings and saw his ERA jump from 2.41 to 3.31.

“Obviously, [the Yankees have] a good lineup. Things kind of unraveled pretty quickly,” Martin said. “The biggest thing is just losing the zone a little bit. That would be my biggest frustration tonight.”

Martin was given a 1-0 lead in the first inning, when Andrew Benintendi hit a 1-2 pitch from Gerrit Cole over the right-center-field wall for his eighth home run of the season.

The Yankees got to Martin in the bottom of the inning when Spencer Jones tied the score with a homer into the second deck in right field. Then New York batted around in the next frame, scoring four runs.

Besides mistakes by Martin, rookie first baseman Jacob Gonzalez made a fielding blunder that prolonged the inning.

After J.C. Escarra led off with a check-swing double, Anthony Volpe hit a ball between first and second. Gonzalez went after the ball and grabbed it as it headed toward right field. However, no one covered first base, allowing Volpe to reach.

Gonzalez acknowledged that with the way the ball was rolling, he should have covered first base while letting second baseman Chase Meidroth make the play.

“I thought the ball was going to get through,” Gonzalez said. “It was the wrong order. I should have gone to the base. I feel really bad. It’s not going to happen again.”

After that, the floodgates opened. Cody Bellinger highlighted the scoring with a two-run double.

Martin didn’t finish the fourth inning, retiring one batter. After getting a quick out, Martin allowed two-run homers to Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt.

“I can’t get nitpicky in the third and fourth innings. It just leads to bigger innings,” Martin said.

How does Martin regroup from an outing like Tuesday’s? He reminded the local media that he recovered from his outing against the Twins on June 2, when he allowed six runs in 4 2/3 innings. Martin went on to pitch six scoreless innings in his next start against the Braves on June 10.

“I can do it again. Tuesday’s start does not define me or my season,” Martin said. “My thought is, it’s a constant process of continuing to get better. The game is always going to show you something you can learn. I learned a lot tonight. I’ll take that to the next start. Continue to push forward.”

It got to the point where Venable didn’t want to use many of his relievers. After Joe Rock pitched three scoreless innings, Venable brought in infielder Luisangel Acuña to pitch the eighth inning.

Other than the Benintendi homer, the White Sox had a tough time with Cole, who allowed two runs in six innings.

“For the lefties, Cole was going away and away and then would come in, and that would keep us honest,” Gonzalez said. “He was able to stay out there and threw strikes.”