The skies cleared enough for the Chicago White Sox to resume their series with the New York Yankees.
Instead of the haze created by wildfire smoke in Canada, there were plenty of long balls during Game 1 of Thursday’s doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.
The Sox hit four home runs on their way to their fifth straight victory, defeating the Yankees 6-5.
“Home runs were the name of the game,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said.
Eloy Jiménez put them ahead with a two-run homer off Michael King in the seventh.
“(I thought) ‘Get (Luis) Robert (Jr.) on the main plate,'” Jiménez said. “Thank God I did.”
Jake Burger, Robert and Yoán Moncada homered early for the Sox, who moved to within three games of first place in the American League Central with the win.
The teams played two Thursdays after Major League Baseball postponed Wednesday’s game because of what he called “clearly hazardous air quality.”
Burger lined a two-run homer to left field in the second inning, his second three-pitch homer stretch into Sunday. Grand Slam that ended with the game against the Detroit Tigers.
The Yankees responded with two two-out runs in the second, getting an RBI double from Kyle Higashioka and an RBI single from Willie Calhoun to tie the game.
The Sox showed more power in the third. Robert led off the inning with a long homer to center, his team-leading 14th. With one out, Moncada singled to right. It was the third baseman’s third homer of the season and first since April 2.
The Yankees got involved in the home run derby in the fourth when Calhoun followed a Higashioka single with a homer to tie the game at 4.
The Yankees took the lead for the first time in the fifth on a two-out RBI single from Oswaldo Cabrera.
Sox starter Lance Lynn allowed five runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and three walks in five innings.
“It was frustrating because it could have been so much better,” Lynn said. “You had a couple of quick outs and you’re right where you want to be and the next thing you give up a couple of runs with two (outs). It was just one of those things where once I thought I was in a rhythm, something happened.
“But all in all, things are fine, physically I feel good. It’s just about making pitches and getting out of innings without giving up runs.”
The offense picked it up, with Robert leading off the seventh with a double and Jiménez following with a homer to right-center.
“The offense was able to get me out today,” Lynn said. “I gave up a lot of runs with two outs. I have to be two outs better than I was today. It could have been a different ballgame for me, but the offense came back and the bullpen did a heck of a job at the end.
“You’re going to have days like this where, for me as a starter, I didn’t do my job, but the offense and the bullpen did their job and you can still win games. I didn’t have to be perfect. That’s how you go on a little run when you win games that aren’t perfect and today was one of those games.”
Relievers Gregory Santos, Joe Kelly, Reynaldo López and Kendall Graveman each pitched scoreless innings. The first two batters reached in the ninth against Graveman. He got Gleyber Torres to ground out to first baseman Andrew Vaughn and Anthony Rizzo to ground out into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.
“He never panics,” Grifol said of Graveman. “This guy comes in and hits the strike zone, makes good pitches when he needs to.”
The final play was reviewed, verifying that shortstop Tim Anderson was on second in the first half of the double play, and it was held.
“Sometimes the angles they show on the board are not the angles these guys had at headquarters,” Grifol said. “There was another angle where we felt really good that the call was going to stand.”
The Yankees recognize Liam Hendriks
Before the game, the Yankees admitted Sox closer Liam Hendriks and his comeback from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, donating $10,000 to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in his honor. Hendriks announced that he was matching the donation.
“I had no idea,” Hendriks said. “They said they were donating in my name and it wasn’t what I expected, but I’m extremely grateful. It shows the class of the organization that they would even consider doing such a thing.
“I had no hesitation in saying that I would fit in. That’s how my wife and I are. Totally unexpected. I keep using the words extremely emotional, but it was emotional and something I didn’t expect. It was something that goes a long way.”
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