White Sox 3, Yankees 1 (opener): Ninth-inning offense leads to victory

AJ Pollock crushes a fastball for the afternoon’s winning home run

The Chicago White Sox take the opener against the New York Yankees with the help of some ninth-inning clutch hitting!

In a game that saw very little offense at the start, it was pleasant to see some of the South Siders who have been struggling offensively be responsible for the first run scored in this game.

In the top of the fourth inning with one out, José Abreu, AJ Pollock, and Yasmani Grandal hit consecutive singles for an early 1-0 lead.

When it comes to the offense, this is the only time bunting is acceptable:

The pitching was a big story in the opener. Johnny Cueto is having a heck of a start to his White Sox career. It was one thing to excel against a sub-majors Kansas City offense, but against a raking Yankee squad, he tossed six shutout innings. He gave up six hits and two walks, and struck out five.

Sharing the mound, Jameson Taillon outdid Cueto by an inning, but Taillon did give up a run in addition to five hits and walk while striking out seven.

Joe Kelly came into the game to relieve Cueto, and inherited two baserunners, but he escaped the jam and picked off a runner in the middle of it.

Unfortunately, with one out and in an 0-2 count, Aaron Judge pulled a Kendall Graveman pitch for a game-tying home run in the eighth inning — the Bronx Bombers don’t like to stay scoreless for too long.

But we have a guy who is getting back on track: Pollock. He took the second pitch he saw against Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning for a home run that mirrored Judge’s in the eighth. AJ knew, and AJ pimped it, and we absolutely love to see it!

With a 2-1 Good Guys lead, Andrew Vaughn walked with one out and advanced to third base on a wild pitch and passed ball, respectively. Adam Engel lasered a RBI double to left field for a 3-1 score, which also drove Chapman from the game.

Liam Hendriks entered the bottom of the ninth with a two-run cushion, and sat down the Yankees 1-2-3 for the save!

The White Sox win 3-1 and improve to an overall record of 20-20!

The closer for today’s doubleheader doubles (see what I did there?) as the Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPN at 6:08 p.m. CT. Michael Kopech (0-1, 1.54 ERA, 3.03 xERA), back from the paternity list, will share the bump with Luis Severino (3-0, 3.63 ERA, 2.74 xERA).

It’s a quick turnaround for the two teams, but grab some dinner and watch Tim Anderson light up the scoreboard. Let’s sweep the day and win the series. I’ll have your Six Pack of Stats ready at the end of the evening!