White Sox 17, Brewers 9

PHOENIX (AP)—Carlos Lee had an inkling his former team would test his arm and maybe throw at him, and he was right. Both happened in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 17-9 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

Lee, who hit a three-run homer off Josh Fields in the third, threw out the man he was traded for last winter, Scott Podsednik, who led off the game with a triple and tried to score on a shallow flyball by Willie Harris.

“I knew they were going to send him,” Lee said.

Why?

“Because they wanted to mess around with me.”

And he said he knew he’d get some brushbacks like the one from left-hander Damaso Marte that plunked him on the hip in the eighth inning.

Lee said he wasn’t mad about getting hit but by Marte’s staring him down afterward.

Lee tried to go after Marte and was restrained by Chicago catcher Chris Widger as both benches emptied. No punches were thrown and Trent Durrington pinch-ran for Lee.

“Why stare at me? There’s no reason for that,” Lee said. “If you want to hit me, hit me, I don’t care. It didn’t hurt.”

Up until that point, the Brewers hadn’t seen any of the hot temper that Lee had a reputation for flashing at times during his six seasons in Chicago.

Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said he had no problem with Lee’s reaction.

“That’s the competitive side in him,” Yost argued. “When he threw the guy out at the plate, that’s the competitive side. We’ve seen that side.”

Marte said he wasn’t intentionally throwing at Lee.

“I didn’t try to hit Carlos. It was just bad luck for him,” Marte said.

And, Marte said he didn’t mean to stare down Lee.

“I don’t know what he thought. I was throwing my fastball inside for him because I know that he can hit the ball down. So I tried to throw the fastball up.”

Marte said he would try to talk to Lee Friday in Tucson, but Lee won’t be making the trip.

Lee finished 1-for-3, Podsednik 2-for-3.

Juan Uribe went 4-for-6 with four RBIs and a homer and Joe Crede 4-for-4 for the White Sox, who had 25 hits, many of them thanks to the 32 mph wind gusts. Prince Fielder also homered for Milwaukee. Victor Santos took the loss after giving up eight runs in 2 1-3 innings.

The teams won’t play each other in interleague games this season but will see each other Friday and again April 1-2 at Miller Park. Lee said he didn’t expect to see any more brushbacks from his former teammates.

“I got no problem with them,” Lee said. “I’ll always be thankful to the White Sox. That’s the team that gave me the opportunity to be who I am right now.”