CHICAGO – With Tim Anderson at third base, Eroldis Chapman dropped a ground-ball single to Lewis Robert as the White Sox rallied for a 3-2 walkoff win over the Yankees at Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday.
Anderson hit a one-off single off Chapman, who was clearly upset by Anderson’s threat to steal the second. Chapman then moved on to Yoan Moncada.
It was the Yankees (24-8)’s first loss in six games. He has already assured of at least a split four-match series with the White Sox (16-16) and will go on to win his 10th series on Sunday in the series finale. The Yankees fell 2-7 this season when they scored two or fewer runs. This was the first game in the last five matches the Bombers had not scored a home run after scoring 11 runs in their last four matches.
This is nothing new for Yankees lefty Jordan Montgomery.
Montgomery started with a support average of just 2.33 runs per nine innings. The Yankees have won two of their five starts and scored at least five runs just once – but only two runs were scored with them in the game. This isn’t a new development, Montgomery hasn’t found much support over his career. More than half of his career is not decided because of the start of 83.
Dallas Keuchel closed for five innings as the Yankees scattered four hits. He walked three and hit three. The left-hander has always been a thorn in the side of the Yankees, especially in his time with the Astros. In nine starts against the Bombers, Keuchel had a 2.23 ERA.
The Yankees scoring 25 in the first two games of the series were his chances for the offense. DJ Lemahieu led the game with a single, Giancarlo Stanton led second with a double, but the Bombers got nothing. In fifth, Keuchel was clearly exhausted, issuing two, two-out walks to load the bases. Anthony Rizzo, who was excited about his return to the City, having played for a decade at City, got a break and was out harmlessly to second base.
After Montgomery and Keuchel were long gone, the White Sox handed the game over to Joe Kelly, who exploded on Thursday night, and the Bombers were able to punch. In the eighth, Aaron Judge lined up a single in center field and Rizzo’s ground ball went past a diving Josh Harrison. Stanton singles out to bring in the Yankees’ first run.
Toni La Russa, who let Kelly trap her on Thursday, took her after Stanton’s single. Liam Hendrix hit Donaldson in the zone at 98 mph and went on 99 mph fastball at the same spot to beat Gleber Torres and ended the Yankees’ best threat. It broke a three-game hitting streak for Torres.
Hendrix followed with Joy Gallo to lead the ninth inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa lined up right field from one to move Gallo to third. A sacrificial fly to Kyle Higashioka gets a run on the right field.
Montgomery was more of a hunt in his first five starts, pitching really well and got nothing to show for it. On Saturday night, Montgomery wasn’t that fast. He struggled to set up his curveball to keep hitters off his fastball. He got 10 swings and misses, four with changeups and 11 call strikes, five on his sinker.
He allowed two runs on Robert, an RBI-single and a Moncada home run to advance from third. This was just the third home run he was allowed to play this season. The White Sox gave him six hits, he scored four and scored three. Montgomery faced 87 batsmen for the first time in Adam Engel’s fourth innings, which began in Detroit on April 21.
Clarke Schmidt, who returned to the Yankees bullpen on Friday, gave the Yankees a scoreless 2.2. He dismissed one. Clay Holmes played the eighth inning without a score.
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