White Sox finally generate some first-inning offense

Avisail Garcia has hit safely in 16 of his last 18 games.

A not-so-fun fact: The White Sox have scored just 10 first-inning runs through their first 31 games. That's the lowest total of any team in the majors.

Better news: Three of those 10 first-inning runs came Wednesday night, and they gave the Sox the jump they needed to come away with a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Sox won consecutive road games for the first time this season and also won their first road series, taking two out of three from the last-place Brewers.

The three-run rally in the first inning featured both small ball and long ball. Adam Eaton started the game by working a walk after a 12-pitch at-bat. He moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a groundout by Emilio Bonifacio and scored on a sacrifice fly by Melky Cabrera.

Avisail Garcia and Adam LaRoche then hit back-to-back home runs to give the Sox the early 3-0 advantage. That was another in a night of firsts for the Sox -- it was the first time they've gone back-to-back this season.

Sox pitcher Jose Quintana was probably stunned to have three runs of support before he ever took the mound. The Sox lefty entered Wednesday's action with a 2.37 ERA over his previous three starts, but all he had to show for it was two losses.

Blessed with an early lead this time, Quintana made it stand up. He fired seven-plus innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits and a walk. He struck out 10 batters.

The Sox have received quality starting pitching in four of their last five games. They've also won four of their last five games. Funny how that works, huh?

One other note about Garcia: His 2-for-4 night raised his batting average to .322. The right fielder has hit safely in 16 of his last 18 games. He's had more than one hit in nine of those contests. The 23-year-old has been mostly overlooked, even in Chicago, but he's been the Sox's most consistent hitter to this point in the season.