The White Sox were swept in the Bronx, and just like the series against the Yankees in Chicago where they dropped three out of four, they had a chance of winning two of the games.
In this case, those two games took the decisive turn when White Sox defenders couldn't quite commit to a difficult play. On Tuesday, it was Michael A. Taylor pulling up on a fly he probably should have laid out for -- two outs in the ninth inning of a tie game -- and then spiking his throw home. Tonight, it was Curtis Mead matadoring a Giancarlo Stanton grounder with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. A potentially fieldable ball instead turned into a three-run double, and a 3-1 White Sox lead into a 4-3 Yankees advantage.
Granted, the game might've taken a turn anyway, because the Yankees extended enough plate appearances to make Davis Martin's first four innings of one-run ball something of a slog, using up 74 pitches despite just four hits and two walks. When he gave up a pair of one-out singles in the fifth, Will Venable called for Tyler Gilbert, and the bullpen was required to protect a two-run lead while starting its evening one out short of the halfway point.
But the way it took a turn was a little disheartening. First, Gilbert needed a new glove, because the umpires took his original glove out of play after the initial inspection. Then he walked lefty Ben Rice to load the bases. Then he gave up the fateful grounder to Stanton.
In defense of Mead's defense, it was a classic Stanton smash, 109 mph off the bat, so even if he gets more of his body in front of it, it's possible it could've ricocheted into the seats. But the legs didn't really move, and the glove wave didn't come close to connecting, so it continued burning grass into an expanse of left field, since Corey Julks was shaded toward center. All three runners scored standing up, and the Yankees never trailed the rest of the way.
The White Sox had a couple of chances to flip the script. Colson Montgomery opened the sixth inning with a resounding double off the wall in right center, his second hit off fellow lefty Carlos Rodón. But then he broke for third on a chopper to his left, only to pause to let it get past him, leaving him a dead duck at third, and that stunted the threat.
The Sox did nothing wrong when they came up empty in the eighth inning. Montgomery drew a two-out walk off Devin Williams, and Edgar Quero followed with a single. Miguel Vargas then hit a screamer to left, some 108.5 mph to left, but Cody Bellinger ran it down in the casual fashion of a 6-foot-3-inch former Gold Glover, and that more or less sealed the deal.
The fact that the White Sox had a case for winning this game was somewhat amazing given how Martin's night started. He immediately faced the bases loaded with nobody out after a Trent Grisham single, Aaron Judge double, and a four-pitch walk to Cody Bellinger as a brief downpour commenced.
Rice then hit a chopper up the first-base line. Martin could've let it go for the foul ball, but he opted to exchange a run for an out by catching it and applying the tag, and it proved to be the wise choice. He struck out Stanton and got Jazz Chisholm Jr. to ground out, and he escaped with minimal damage. The biggest toll was on his pitch count, as he threw 26 pitches to put him behind the efficiency eight-ball, especially when the Yankees loaded the bases again in the second.
Still, he threw well enough for the White Sox to get back in the game. Rodón opened the second by allowing a single and an HBP. Taylor then bunted the runners over, and the Sox successfully played for one run with a Julks sac fly to deep center.
After playing small ball his first time up, Taylor used the long ball in the fourth inning, following up a Vargas one-out walk with an opposite-field strike to right-center section of the short porch in right, giving the White Sox a 3-1 lead they could only briefly savor.
Notes:
*Derek Hill went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his White Sox debut, but he made an outstanding diving catch in right center to prevent a run-scoring double in a scoreless New York sixth.
*Montgomery rose to the challenge of batting third in a game started by Rodón, recording two of the five White Sox hits and drawing a walk as well. Unfortunately, the four spots in front of him went 0-for-14, and he had the TOOTBLAN.
*White Sox pitchers limited the Yankees to a 2-for-13 performance with runners in scoring position, stranding 11. Alas, the White Sox had just three RISPy at-bats, and went hitless.
*After starting September 8-2, they're 1-for-11 with three games remaining.
