Yankees Face Setback Against White Sox
CHICAGO — The Yankees haven’t had much say in the surprisingly easy matches they’ve faced lately, but they’ve worked hard nonetheless.
Just as stronger opponents were on the horizon, the Yankees saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end with a 3-2 loss to the White Sox on Sunday afternoon.
Left-handed pitcher Tim Hill gave up a home run to Renin Sosa, who hit a game-winner in the eighth inning, breaking a 2-2 tie on a day when the Yankees struggled to score.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays edged out the Brewers, pushing the Yankees (76-61) three games back from Toronto in the AL East and tightening the wild card race with the Red Sox.
The Yankees will have a day off on Monday before heading to Houston for a three-game series starting Tuesday. They’ll follow that up with matchups against other playoff hopefuls, including the Blue Jays, Tigers, and Red Sox.
Aaron Judge had a solid performance, hitting his 43rd home run of the year and falling just a triple short of the cycle, though it came alongside a rough stretch where he hadn’t secured a run in nine innings.
Pitcher Lewis Gill was decent, giving up two runs over 5¹/₃ innings, though he hasn’t finished six innings in any of his starts this season.
For the second consecutive day, Judge put the Yankees on the board first with a home run, this time against long-time lefty Martin Perez.
That solo shot tied him with Yogi Berra on the Yankees’ all-time home run list at 358, with Joe DiMaggio next at 361.
It was a promising day for Judge, who came into Sunday batting .218 since returning from the IL due to elbow flexor strain.
Gill had a little hiccup, giving up back-to-back doubles in two innings, which allowed the White Sox to tie the game. However, the Yankees quickly responded with their own set of doubles to regain the lead.
Judge nearly hit a home run that would have added to his tally but settled for a double off the center field wall, contributing to a 2-1 Yankees lead.
Giancarlo Stanton extended the lead later in the inning, but former Yankee Mike Tauchman made a leap at the right field wall, robbing him of a two-run homer.
Gill managed to retire ten in a row until he threw a slider that went awry, leading to a four-pitch walk that ended his performance. He was replaced by Fernando Cruz, who quickly turned a double play to wrap up the inning.
