PHILADELPHIA — The smell of hate is pervasive whenever you enter a sporting facility in Philadelphia.

It’s a tough town that’s proud of its reputation as booers, and even the Phillies, the hottest team in baseball, aren’t immune from verbal abuse these days.

No matter how many times the “Get Loud” graphic was displayed on the Citizens Bank Park video board Saturday to exhort fans into cheering, it couldn’t mitigate their desire to pile on the Phillies during a a 6-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

The Sox started with a four-run first inning, ignited when Sam Antonocci reached on — what else? — a hit-by-pitch, and then third-inning home runs by Colson Montgomery and Jacob Gonzalez, the first of his big-league career, provided a comfy lead.

“I’ve said it before, (Antonocci) plays crazy,” Gonzalez said. “But it’s not a bad crazy.”

Good crazy is OK with the Sox, who improved to 34-30 and evened the series at a game apiece, with lefty Tyler Gilbert scheduled as the opener and rookie David Sandlin as the bulk pitcher in the rubber game Sunday.

Philly fans lived down to their rep early, thanks to the Sox’s aggressive first.

Starter Andrew Painter was booed after walking Montgomery to load the bases, booed after giving up an RBI double to Tristan Peters three batters later to make it 4-0 and booed after finally getting out of the inning.

The home fans booed him again after Montgomery’s 16th home run in the third and, two batters later, after Gonzalez’s first career homer. Manager Will Venable and the Sox players gave Gonzalez the silent treatment, ignoring him as he entered the dugout. No one took credit for the plan, but Sean Burke fingered Montgomery as the likely ringleader.

“I didn’t know what was happening,” Gonzalez said. “But I always told myself if I ever got the silent treatment, I’d just go on with my day. And that’s what I did.”

Gonzalez said he didn’t get the ball, but an intrepid reporter asked him about a ball in a Ziploc bag in his locker that said “1st HR” on it.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, turning around and spotting the ball. “Looks like it’s right there. I didn’t know that. No one told me.”

The booing by Phillies fans continued when Painter was removed in the fifth, trailing 6-1, but the sound system was coincidentally cranked up, perhaps to drown out the boos.

It was music to the ears of the Sox, who have been virtually boo-proof this season because they have outplayed expectations with a 28-17 record since April 14 and have played a brand of baseball that belies their youth and inexperience.

That hasn’t always been the case on the South Side, of course, and as expectations grow, there’s a chance Sox fans will become disenchanted when things go horribly wrong, as happens in baseball.

But for now, the 2026 Sox are still in their honeymoon phase with fans — and hoping to make it a long one.

Saturday was a day the Sox would like to bottle. Four pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts, with Sean Newcomb and Grant Taylor combining for six in 3 1/3 innings.

Venable used left-hander Brandon Eisert as the opener to try to quiet the Phillies lefties, notably Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, before turning to Burke, his previously scheduled starter. Staked to a four-run lead, Eisert struck out Schwarber and Harper on sliders in the first and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Burke entered in the second and allowed three runs with seven strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings, serving up two solo homers. He also walked five and wasn’t pleased with his performance, criticizing his control.

But Newcomb bailed out Burke in the sixth, striking out Edmundo Sosa with two men on, then added two more scoreless innings before handing it over to Taylor in the ninth.

“I take a lot of pride in taking the ball whenever and for as long as I can,” Newcomb said. “It’s been going really well lately, so just keep it going.”

Taylor, who registered his 100th strikeout Wednesday in 68 career innings — the fastest pace of any pitcher in Sox history — struck out the side in the ninth, throwing five pitches of 100 mph. Newcomb called Taylor “one of the best in the game — the numbers kind of say that.”

Taylor still harbors a dream of becoming a starter but said he’s comfortable pitching wherever he’s needed this season. He has had three or more strikeouts in an outing 10 times and has 50 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings, possibly on target for an All-Star Game appearance here in Philly in his second year.

A win Sunday would be the biggest of the season for the Sox, who are in a killer 12-game stretch against the best teams in the majors. After the Phillies come the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers, the two best teams in baseball. It will be difficult to maintain their momentum … or maybe not.

“I don’t think it’s that difficult,” Taylor said. “Obviously winning games in the big leagues is tough, but there’s an expectation for us, at least in the clubhouse, to go and win every ballgame. We believe we can beat anyone.

“It’s just keeping that mentality through those six games. The Braves and the Dodgers are the top of the league right now, and that’s where we want to be come September, come October. It would be great for us to realize where we’re at right now, and ideally we go win six games.”

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