A day after the Yankees repeatedly squandered scoring opportunities, a four-run fourth inning and an Aaron Judge home run fueled a win in the Windy City.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s two-run double, Harrison Bader’s RBI single and Jake Bauers’ sacrifice fly contributed to the big rally in Tuesday night’s 7-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, during which starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt turned in another solid outing.
Pinch-hitter Kyle Higashioka added a two-run home run in the eighth inning and Judge slugged a 410-foot solo shot later in the frame. The home run was Judge’s second since he returned in late July from a toe injury that kept him out nearly two months.
The offensive outburst came a day after the Yankees stranded 13 men and left the bases loaded twice in Monday’s 5-1 loss in Chicago. Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected from that game for arguing balls and strikes, delivering an animated tirade in which he drew a line in the dirt near home plate and impersonated umpire Laz Diaz’s strikeout call.
The Yankees also left 15 men on base Sunday during a 9-7 loss to the Astros. They collected 13 hits Tuesday, though they did strike out 17 times.
Schmidt stepped up as the Yankees’ stopper, holding Chicago to one run and striking out seven over 5.1 innings to help his team snap a two-game losing streak.
It was Schmidt’s 14th consecutive start allowing three runs or fewer. The former first-round pick improved to 8-6 with a 4.23 ERA this season. He continues to serve as a steady presence in a Yankees rotation that’s received regular excellence from ace Gerrit Cole but endured injuries and inconsistency from Luis Severino, Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes.
The Yankees improved to 59-55 and closed the gap for the third and final American League Wild Card spot to 4.5 games after Toronto lost to Cleveland. Starting pitcher Touki Toussaint allowed four runs over five innings and took the loss for the White Sox, who fell to 46-69.
Boone said Severino (2-6, 7.74 ERA) was in line to start Wednesday night’s series finale but that the team would reassess after Tuesday’s game. Mike Clevinger (4-5, 3.72 ERA) is set to pitch for Chicago.
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