MILWAUKEE (Interstat) — The Milwaukee Brewers used a dominant first inning and a parade of effective pitchers to defeat the Chicago White Sox 6-1 on Saturday at American Family Field, securing a series victory and continuing their perfect start to the 2026 season.

A crowd of 36,030 watched the Brewers improve to 2-0, while the White Sox fell to 0-2, having been outscored 20-3 in the first two games of this opening series.

The most important part of the game came immediately, as the Brewers ambushed White Sox starter Sean Burke in the bottom of the first inning, setting a commanding tone. Brice Turang led off with a double and scored on Christian Yelich’s RBI single. After a Jake Bauers single, Garrett Mitchell delivered the key blow, a two-run single up the middle that scored Yelich and Bauers to give Milwaukee a 3-0 lead before many fans had settled into their seats.

That early outburst proved more than enough support for a deep and overpowering Brewers pitching staff. Starter Chad Patrick, the game’s top star, navigated 4 1/3 solid innings, allowing one run on five hits while striking out four. The lone blemish was a solo home run by White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami to center field in the fourth inning, which accounted for Chicago’s only run.

From there, the Brewers’ bullpen slammed the door with authority. Aaron Ashby, who earned the win, entered with two on and one out in the fifth and promptly induced a groundout before striking out Murakami to end the threat. Ashby fired 1 2/3 perfect innings, striking out four of the five batters he faced. The relief corps continued its dominance with scoreless innings from Angel Zerpa, DL Hall and Abner Uribe, who combined for five strikeouts over the final three frames. In total, Brewers pitchers recorded 15 strikeouts.

The White Sox, meanwhile, struggled to build any sustained offense beyond Murakami’s blast. They finished with seven hits but went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Their best chance to rally came in the fifth when Chase Meidroth hit a ground-rule double and Colson Montgomery walked, putting two on with one out. Ashby entered and got Austin Hays to ground out and Murakami to strike out swinging, extinguishing the threat.

Milwaukee steadily added to its lead. In the second, Turang doubled again and later scored on a Yelich infield single coupled with a throwing error by Burke. Brandon Lockridge drove in David Hamilton with a single in the sixth, and Joey Ortiz provided an RBI single in the seventh to cap the scoring at 6-1.

Turang led the Brewers’ 12-hit attack, going 3 for 5 with two doubles and two runs scored. Mitchell finished 2 for 4 with two crucial RBIs from the first inning. Yelich also had two hits and two RBIs.

Burke took the loss for Chicago, charged with four runs, three earned, on six hits over two innings. The White Sox bullpen, including Jedixson Paez, Seranthony Domínguez and Chris Murphy, provided scoreless relief but the early deficit was too large to overcome.

The victory defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 2-1 White Sox win, though Milwaukee’s ELO rating gave them a 73.8% probability to win. The combined seven runs went under the posted over/under line of 8.

The two teams conclude their three-game series on Sunday. The White Sox will then travel to Miami for a three-game set starting Monday, while the Brewers will host the Tampa Bay Rays for three beginning Monday.