Yankees Squander Late Comeback as White Sox Walk it Off Against Aroldis Chapman
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CHICAGO — The Yankees showed some fight on Saturday night, battling back from a two-run deficit with six outs remaining.
When they needed a clean inning from their bullpen to extend the ballgame into extra innings, however, closer Aroldis Chapman couldn't contain the top of Chicago's lineup.
Chapman served up a game-winning RBI single from White Sox center fielder Luis Robert in the bottom of the ninth, scoring shortstop Tim Anderson and giving the White Sox a 3-2 victory.
Shut down early on by left-hander Dallas Keuchel, who twirled five scoreless frames, it took until the eighth inning for New York to wake up offensively.
Aaron Judge got the rally started with a single to the opposite field, followed by another base hit from Anthony Rizzo. With his 90.5-mph grounder skipping off the glove of second baseman Josh Harrison, dribbling into shallow center field, Judge was able to advance to third
He didn't have to wait on third base for long. Giancarlo Stanton drove him in with a bloop single to left, his third hit of the night.
Stanton has been on an absolute tear of late, raising his batting average on the season to .300 for the first time since the third game of the year.
Those three consecutive hits prompted White Sox manager Tony La Russa to take right-hander Joe Kelly out of the game, summoning closer Liam Hendriks from the bullpen for what would've been a five-out save.
While Hendriks was able to get out of the jam in the eighth—firing up a crowd of 32,830 at Guaranteed Rate Field with back-to-back strikeouts of Josh Donaldson and Gleyber Torres—but he couldn't hold on to a 2-1 lead in the top of the ninth.
Joey Gallo came around to score after Isiah Kiner-Falefa's single set the table for a game-tying sacrifice fly off the bat of Kyle Higashioka. On the play, Kiner-Falefa was cut down trying to sneak from second to third.
In the bottom of the ninth, with Chapman on the bump, the White Sox threatened with one out. Tim Anderson poked a single to center, jumping ahead into scoring position as the left-hander walked third baseman Yoan Moncada.
With runners on first and second, Robert slapped a ground ball just past Rizzo's outstretched glove. Even a perfect throw from Judge in right wasn't enough to catch Anderson as he scampered home.
Chapman received the loss on Saturday night, his first of the year. After starting the season with 12 scoreless outings, the lefty has allowed a run in each of his last two appearances.
New York can still win the series on Sunday afternoon. Southpaw Nestor Cortes will be on the mound for the Yankees, facing off with Chicago's right-hander Michael Kopech.
MORE:
- What Yankees' Clarke Schmidt Learned During Brief Demotion to Minors
- Historic Starts For Judge, Stanton Reminiscent of 2017
- Yankees' Gerrit Cole Hitting His Stride After Cold Start to Season
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