BOSTON — The longest trip of the season for the Chicago White Sox got off to a bumpy beginning Friday.
Starter Martín Pérez surrendered a three-run home run to Trevor Story in the first inning. The veteran left-hander exited after three innings with left forearm soreness in the 10-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox in front of 35,620 at Fenway Park.
“I feel sore,” Pérez said. “I was just trying to be smart and tell them to get me out of the game and see what I got. We have to wait for the MRI tomorrow.
“In the third inning, I started feeling kind of fatigued a little bit. But I feel bad because I don’t want to be in this situation. I want to keep pitching and competing but it is what it is. Wait and see what it’s going to be and the decision and move on.”
Pérez allowed four runs on five hits with two walks and no strikeouts in his three innings. He threw 52 pitches before leaving with the injury.
“They put a couple good swings on him,” manager Will Venable said. “I think it was more of a product of them having something on him than the forearm bothering him. I think he was his normal self until the end there.”
Pérez’s setback came as the White Sox (4-15) continued to tumble. They’ve lost five straight and 13 of 15.
Friday marked the start of a 10-game trip with the White Sox making stops in Boston, Minneapolis and West Sacramento, Calif.
There’s no off days during the span, which could push the limits of any bullpen. The White Sox used four relievers after Pérez’s injury.
The Sox signed Pérez to a one-year, $5 million contract in the offseason.
The 34-year-old, who is in his 14th big-league season, has a 3.15 ERA in four starts for the Sox. He had an impressive debut on March 31 at Rate Field, throwing six no-hit innings against the Minnesota Twins.
“This is the guy when we’re talking about stuff and opportunities for leadership, he’s the guy that is embracing those moments and is vocal, comes with the credibility of having done in the league for so long and done it well,” Venable said. “So he means a lot to this group.”
During a session with reporters on Sunday, pitching coach Ethan Katz mentioned Pérez’s impact on and off the field.
“He’s constantly talking to the pitchers,” Katz said. “The way he goes about his business, it’s great. He likes to have a lot of fun while taking his craft very seriously. He’s been great.
“He wants to win, he wants to get better, he wants to compete at the highest level and do his best.”
Pérez ran into trouble early on Friday.
Rafael Devers doubled with one out in the first on a ball that was just out of the reach of center fielder Michael A. Taylor, who ran a long way to try to track it down. Alex Bregman walked and Story homered to center as the White Sox fell behind 3-0.
Pérez surrendered an RBI double to Rob Refsnyder with two outs in the third.
Andrew Benintendi hit a home run to lead off the fourth for the White Sox. But when the team took the field in the bottom half of the inning, Penn Murfee entered in relief of Pérez.
The Red Sox showed some power while putting the game out of reach. Ceddanne Rafaela hit a two-run home run against Murfee in the fourth, Story connected for another three-run home run — this time off Tyler Gilbert — in the seventh and Carlos Narváez added a solo shot off Bryse Wilson in the eighth.
White Sox catcher Edgar Quero got his first major-league hit in the ninth, lining a first-pitch fastball from Josh Winckowski the opposite way for a double to left.
“I’m seeing the ball good,” said Quero, who was called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday. “Just ready to hit the fastball and I hit it.”
Little else went right for the White Sox, who fell to 0-7 on the road — their worst start away from home in franchise history (previously 0-6 in 1968).
