CHICAGO – For Yankees fans, anything less than a clean sweep against the White Sox was deemed inadequate entering their three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field. The White Sox, struggling as the worst team in Major League Baseball, were attempting to avoid a historically poor season.
Despite recently snapping a 21-game losing streak, the White Sox had only won one of their last 25 games before facing the Yankees, who were vying for the top position in the AL East. It seemed like a classic mismatch on paper.
“When we don’t win, it’s usually catastrophic. When we do win, it is what it is,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, seemingly anticipating the question that followed Chicago’s stunning 12-2 victory.
Compounding the Yankees’ challenging night was concern over Jazz Chisholm Jr., who left the game in the seventh inning after suffering a left elbow injury on a head-first slide to home in the fifth. Chisholm is scheduled for an MRI and further evaluation on Tuesday after initial X-rays returned negative results.
The Yankees wasted numerous scoring opportunities, with Alex Verdugo downplaying the team’s performance as simply part of a 162-game season. “Yeah they’re one of the worst teams, but these guys are still big leaguers. They still have days when they’re clicking,” Verdugo noted. “We just have to do a better job of cashing in those runs we had on base.”
The Yankees struggled significantly in this game, going 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position, resulting in 16 runners stranded on base. “Just not able to break through, but that wasn’t the issue,” Boone said. “We couldn’t keep them off the board.”
Yankees starter Luis Gil exited after four innings after allowing four runs, a performance he found frustrating but felt he executed well despite the results. The White Sox capitalized on their opportunities, going 10-for-17 with runners in scoring position, contributing to the Yankees falling a half-game behind the first-place Orioles.
In the opening four innings, the Yankees left nine on base, with eight of those in scoring position. Aaron Judge, in pursuit of his 300th career home run, flied out to right field with the bases loaded, a hit that might have been a grand slam in Yankee Stadium according to MLB Statcast.
Judge did hit an RBI double in the first inning, but the Yankees faltered with runners in scoring position, with notable players like Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres unable to capitalize.
Verdugo specifically addressed a failed bunt attempt, which he took full responsibility for, explaining that he was eager to contribute but ended up popping it up. “Just got a little lazy with it and popped it up…it happens.” In the end, while this may be a part of baseball, it was hard for Yankees fans to accept after such a disheartening loss.