CHICAGO — Shortly before the Yankees began a three-game series against the White Sox, Aaron Boone was asked what it’s like to play a 28-91 team that’s on pace to finish with the worst record MLB has ever seen.
“Is it tough coming into a series where if you win, you’re supposed to win against a team that’s historically bad, and if you lose, it’s catastrophic?” a reporter wondered.
“You know, when we don’t win, it’s usually catastrophic,” Boone said, a quip that referenced how some can overreact any time the Yankees lose. “When we do win, it is what it is. We’re on a mission to try and be a great team, to be a championship team, and most of us have been around long enough to know that every night you set foot on a big league diamond, you’re capable of losing and you’re capable of winning. Ultimately, it comes down to you gotta play well.
“If we play well, we should put ourselves in a good position.”
The Yankees did not play well on Monday, nor did they put themselves in a good position. Instead, the owner’s of one of baseball’s better records humiliated themselves against the bottom-feeding White Sox, losing 12-2.
The White Sox had gone 3-27 in their last 30 games, a stretch that saw them fire manager Pedro Grifol after tying an American League record with 21 straight losses.
The evening actually started on a positive note for the Bombers, as an Aaron Judge double gave them a quick run in the opening frame. But Luis Gil allowed two in his first inning of work, as ex-Yankee Andrew Benintendi and Gavin Sheets hit their own RBI doubles.
Korey Lee then smoked a 407-foot solo shot in the fourth before Nicky Lopez singled a run home.
In addition to four earned runs, Gil totaled seven hits, two walks, three strikeouts and 98 pitches over four innings. With the Yankees’ bullpen spent after a busy Sunday, the righty offered his shortest start since July 2.
Following Gil’s departure, ex-White Sox reliever Tim Hill surrendered another RBI double to Sheets. The first baseman added yet another run-scoring two-bagger in the seventh before Dominic Fletcher produced a run with a single.
Chicago didn’t stop there, though, as Corey Julks lined an RBI single before Brooks Baldwin smoked a three-run homer. The White Sox totaled six runs in the seventh; all were charged to Enyel De Los Santos.
They added one more in the eighth on a Sheets single that Ben Rice should have fielded at first.
Meanwhile, the Yankees scored a second run in the fifth on an Anthony Volpe single.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. showed off his speed on that knock, scoring from second despite the ball never getting past Lopez, Chicago’s shortstop, in shallow left field. However, Chisholm got roughed up sliding into home, and Rice hit for him in the seventh.
A press box announcement later disclosed that Chisholm suffered a left elbow injury. He saw a White Sox team doctor and is scheduled for imaging on Tuesday.
The Bombers’ first two runs came off rookie Ky Bush, but they should have had more considering the southpaw walked seven batters over 4.2 innings.
The Yankees, who have struggled against lefties all year, had a chance to do more damage against Bush in the fourth inning. But with runners on first and second and nobody out, Alex Verdugo popped a bunt up on an 0-1 count. Juan Soto proceeded to groundout, so the Sox intentionally walked Judge to load the bases for Giancarlo Stanton. The move worked, as Stanton struck out on a check swing to end the inning.
Wasted runners doomed the Yankees all evening, as they left 16 on base and went 2-for-18 with men in scoring position against a pitching staff that ranked second to last in ERA, WHIP and FIP before the game began.
Now 70-50, Monday’s game represents just one loss for the Yankees in the grand scheme of things. But with the dog days of summer underway, a team with World Series aspirations can’t afford to waste too many easy opportunities.
With the Yankees in a tight divisional race with the Orioles, every win matters.
The Yankees will get another chance to look better than baseball’s lowliest team on Tuesday when Nestor Cortes takes the mound at Guaranteed Rate Field. Jonathan Cannon, another rookie, will start for Chicago.
