Looking to avoid being swept in the Bronx, the White Sox had to face an old friend in Carlos Rodón. The former third overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, Rodón was making his first career start against his former club for whom he appeared in 121 games over seven seasons. Rodón was trying to follow up Luis Gil's excellent outing against the White Sox against a heavily right-handed lineup from manager Pedro Grifol. The big pregame surprise was that Eloy Jiménez made his season debut in right field.
Even a bigger surprise was the White Sox taking an early lead thanks to the bottom of the order. Corey Julks, who just joined the White Sox for this series, launched his first home run of the season with a solo shot to left in the second inning. A few moments later, Zach Remillard smashed an RBI triple to left field, and the White Sox were up 2-0.
That lead didn't last long. Chris Flexen pitched a scoreless first, but ran into trouble in the second, allowing three straight hits with an infield single to Anthony Rizzo, a double to Gleyber Torres, and a two-run single for Jose Trevino.
Tied 2-2 heading into the fourth, the Sox set themselves in good position to re-take the lead. Jiménez singled and stole second, his improbable third steal of 2024. After a pitch hit Paul DeJong, the Sox had two runners on with nobody out. But Rodón calmed down and bounced back by striking out the side.
Flexen faced a similar situation in the bottom half. The Yankees had two runners on with two outs and utilityman Jon Berti batting. On a first-pitch cutter, Berti launched a three-run homer to right center field. With an expected batting average of .330, Berti's deep fly would have only been a home run at Yankee Stadium and Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
Then Aaron Judge took advantage of Yankee Stadium as well. In the fifth, Judge flicked another Flexen cutter out for a two-run homer, extending the Yankee lead to 7-2. Traveling 339 feet, Judge's 13th homer of the season would have only left the yard at Yankee Stadium, per Statcast.
With all the run support Rodón was able to go on cruise control, finishing with a 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K line on 99 pitches. Meanwhile, Flexen was tagged for seven runs, which is a season-high. His final line of 4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, BB, 4 K increases his season ERA to 5.48 and should quiet trade rumors for a moment.
Unfortunately, the Sox offensive struggles continued this weekend in New York, as they were outscored 17-5 in the three-game sweep and out-homered 8-1 by the powerful Yankees lineup. Despite their contact-orientated approach giving them more plate appearances with runners in scoring position for the series, the White Sox were 3-for-24 in that situation. The road record, now at 4-19, is a cause for concern. The team now faces a trip north to face a Toronto Blue Jays team that is dealing with their own struggles, beginning on Monday
Game Notes
- While Berti and Judge's home runs wouldn’t have left the yard at Guaranteed Rate Field, several extra-base hits in today’s game would have left the yard:Remillard - 2nd Inning TripleGleyber Torres - 2nd Inning DoubleTrevino - 6th Inning Flyout
- Julks, who robbed Trevino of a home run on the 6th inning flyout, had the White Sox only multi-hit game going 2-for-3 with his homer.
- White Sox were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position
