In hopes of getting Luis Severino out of his rut, Aaron Boone deployed the former All-Star starter as the bulk boy behind opener Ian Hamilton.
But the Severino who came into the game in the second inning allowed a four-digit OPS to lefties this season, and the White Sox acted against type and refused to let him regress to the mean.
Yoán Moncada led off with a double(!), Yasmani Grandal singled him home, and then Oscar Colás hit his first home run at home to give the White Sox a 3-0 lead, and they mostly cruised to a second consecutive series win.
Moncada hit a pair of doubles off Severino, which might indicate just how far Severino has fallen. The second one drove in Luis Robert Jr., who singled, then stole second and third. It turned out that the latter was unnecessary, so the pinky he sprained diving into third could have been saved.
Mike Clevinger completed six innings for the first time since May, allowing only a run-scoring groundout in the fourth inning. He needed just 86 pitches, scattering three singles and three walks while striking out six. He needed help early, as Robert thwarted Jake Bauers' attempt to go from first to third on a single two batters into the game, but he only allowed one other hit the rest of the way.
The biggest threat arose after he left. Jimmy Lambert started the seventh with a 5-1 lead, which immediately became 5-2 courtesy of a Giancarlo Stanton opposite-field solo shot. He then gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases, and the go-ahead run came to the plate with still nobody out.
Aaron Bummer put out the fire, striking out Oswaldo Cabrera before getting Kyle Higashioka to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. It was smoked at 107.4 mph, and the hop nearly carried a backpedaling Elvis Andrus into the right-center gap, but he still managed to field it cleanly and make an on-target flip to second, where Tim Anderson caught it on the run and converted a very smooth turn.
Andrus then sealed the game in the eighth when the bases were loaded for the Sox. Oscar Colás had just grounded into a 3-2 fielder's choice to briefly sustain New York's hopes, but Andrus pounded a grounder between the drawn-in third baseman and third base for a bases-clearing double. Anderson then drove home Andrus with a single for the ninth run, and Gregory Santos, who entered in the eighth inning after Bummer's leadoff walk, was able to record his third save even with the final score showing a seven-run margin.
Bullet points:
*The White Sox took the season series against the Yankees, winning two of three in both series.
*Trayce Thompson replaced Robert and created his own run in the fifth. He singled, stole second, then scored when Eloy Jiménez's chopper to second ate up Gleyber Torres.
*That run came on Keynan Middleton's tab. Middleton pitched the fifth and sixth, and was apparently persona non grata on the scoreboard.
The White Sox's explanation after the game:
The White Sox did have a scoreboard graphic when he was warming and entered the game, for what it's worth.
*Even with the productive error not counting, the White Sox went 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position, whereas the Yankees were 0-for-7.
*The Sox also stole three bases, while Grandal cut down Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second on New York's only try.
