Yankees, Held to Two Hits on Offense, Beat White Sox to Win Series
CHICAGO — The Yankees were held to two hits on Sunday afternoon in Chicago.
With some patience at the plate, and another masterful performance from starter Nestor Cortes, those two hits were more than enough.
New York scored five runs while Cortes baffled Chicago's lineup, throwing eight innings for the first time in his career, in a 5-1 victory.
The Yankees did most of their damage early on, pushing across three runs (on just one hit) in the second frame.
White Sox starter Michael Kopech walked four batters in the inning, including both No. 9 hitter Aaron Hicks and leadoff man DJ LeMahieu with the bases loaded. Then, a wild pitch with Aaron Judge at the plate allowed backstop Jose Trevino to scamper home safely from third.
"It's a scoring competition, not a hitting competition," manager Aaron Boone quipped after the victory. "So we'll take five any day. Look, Kopech is hard to score against. He hasn't given up much all season. So, we talk about finding ways to win games. Today our patience helped us, made him work."
Cortes, meanwhile, was locked in from the start. He gave up a base hit in the first before retiring 15 batters in a row. In the fourth, he struck out the side on 10 pitches, nearly registering his second immaculate inning of the season.
Even as his pitch count slowly began to rise, Yankees manager Aaron Boone stuck with his lefty through the seventh. Outfielder Adam Engel put Chicago on the board with a solo shot on a slider below the zone with one out in the inning, but that was all the White Sox could manage against him.
Right-hander Clay Holmes pitched the ninth for the Yankees, and it would've been a save situation if not for Joey Gallo's two-run blast in the top of the frame. His fifth home run of the year gave New York just a little more insurance, plating Josh Donaldson who—you guessed it—walked moments before Gallo stepped up to the plate.
Winning three of four games in Chicago, the Yankees are victorious in each of their last eight completed series. Their 25-9 record is the best in Major League Baseball.
Next up for the Bombers is a four-game set against the Orioles. Luis Severino will take the ball for New York on Monday night in Baltimore against righty Kyle Bradish.
MORE:
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa Owns Up to Costly Blunder in Yankees' Loss
- Yankees' Aaron Boone Isn't Concerned With Isiah Kiner-Falefa's Recent Defensive Struggles
- Historic Starts For Judge, Stanton Reminiscent of 2017
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