New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox: Series Recap

Game 1: 8/12/21, 7:25 PM (Chicago wins 9-8)

Wow what a game! Despite an epic rally in the 9th, Yanks fall to Chicago at The Field of Dreams. Starter Andrew Heaney was terrible, as he’s been his entire career. He gave New York 5 innings and gave up 7 runs. He sucks point blank period. After trailing 1-0 early, Aaron Judge would blast a towering 3-run homer in the 3rd giving them a boost and a 3-1 lead. That 3-1 lead wouldn’t last long as the Sox put up a 4 spot in the bottom of the inning and then 2 more in the 4th inning making it a 7-3 White Sox lead. Heaney departed after tossing a scoreless 5th inning, finally. I can’t stress enough how horrible he is. In the 6th, Brett Gardner found the corn field for his 5th homer of the year cutting it to a 7-4 deficit. It would stay 7-4 until the 9th, White Sox closer Liam Hendriks got 2 quick outs and it all crashed down quickly, Judge would come up with a runner on and mash a 2-homer (his 2nd of the game) to make it a 1 run deficit, later in the inning Giancarlo Stanton would clobber a 2-run homer of his own to actually give the Yankees a 8-7 lead. Unfortunately Zack Britton didn’t do his job and gave up a walk then a game winning 2-run bomb to Tim Anderson. Britton took the loss while Hendriks took a blown save but the win. A bad ending for the Yanks but an incredible night for baseball. This game drew a TV audience of over 13 million people. What a night for baseball!

Game 2: 8/14/21, 7:10 PM (Yanks win 7-5)

Another high scoring affair that favored the Yanks in a 7-5 win. They barely hung on but huge games from Judge and Joey Gallo helped them prevail. Jameson Tallion pitched a decent game against an AL powerhouse lineup. He tossed 5 innings while giving up 3 runs in the process, not bad. Yanks got one the board quick in the 1st, Judge had an RBI groundout and then Gallo came up and blasted a solo shot giving New York an early 2-0 lead. The Sox would tie it right back in the 2nd but Yanks took the lead again in the 3rd on an RBI double by Judge. He continued to carry the offense all year and this series has been nothing less. However, Chicago would tie it yet again in the bottom of the 3rd and it would stay 3-3 all the way until the 8th, when Judge (again) would mash a solo shot of Craig Kimbrel to put the bombers up 4-3. At that point it seemed like they would hang on, Jose Abreu had other ideas though as he came up in the bottom of the 9th off Chad Green with 2 outs and a full 3-2 count, he launched a dramatic game tying solo shot that erupted a sell out Chicago crowd. Another extra inning game for New York now. Judge immediately started off the 10th inning with a go ahead RBI single, his 18th go ahead RBI this season. The very next batter Joey Gallo, would smash his 2nd homer of the game a 2-run homer to give the Yanks a 7-4 lead. This was again all off of Liam Hendriks who is known for laying eggs against the Yanks. He laid another one. The bottom of the 10th was no cake walk though, as Zack Britton struggled yet again but had a short leash but Albert Abreu picked up his 1st major league save. Nice moment for him. Green picked up the win and Hendriks picked up the loss.

Game 3: 8/14/21, 2:05 PM (Yanks win 5-3)

The Yanks hang on in the 9th to win the series and a close a 5-1 year against one of the best teams in baseball. Starter Nestor Cortes threw a gem and provided lots of length for a taxed bullpen. He tossed 6 innings allowing only 1 run. He has been excellent in any role he’s in, whether it’s in the bullpen or starting. Rougned Odor got them going in the 2nd with a 2-run homer followed up by a Gardner RBI double to make it 3-0 NY. Chicago picked up a run in the 6th off of Cortes. In the 9th, Luke Voit would provide key insurance for the Yanks with a 2-run blast to make it 5-1. Unfortunately things weren’t exactly smooth sailing as Chicago rallied for 2 runs off Lucas Leutge but thankfully Wandy Peralta escaped the jam. Cortes picked up the win while ace Lucas Giolito took the loss.

My thoughts:

A series win against one of the best teams in baseball? Sign me up! What an excellent back and forth series and a potential playoff matchup? Who knows. Loved to see the live bats against some Chicago Aces. Lance Lynn and Giolito are 2 of the leagues top aces and the Yanks came to hit. The bullpen seems to be a concern with how taxed it was though.

What’s next?

The White Sox welcome in the powerhouse Oakland Athletics for a huge 3 game set between 2 strong teams. The Yanks head home to play a rain make up 1 game against the Los Angeles Angels.