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A nightmare night last year in the cornfield. It was a demoralizing defeat in the Field of Dreams game, but the White Sox are not this kryptonite that they claim to be. With a roster filled with talent, like Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Liam Hendriks, Yasmani Grandal, Tim Anderson, AJ Pollock, Luis Robert, and many more, they haven't stopped the Yankees one bit.
This decade, although young, proves that point. They have only won twice, both 1 run games, and this season is a true testament of who is on the right side. The Yankees (24-9) are hot, and the White Sox (16-16) are not.
This past weekend further continued on that statement. The first two games were offensive powerhouse nights.
Game one featured Miami Mike, Giancarlo Stanton, homering twice and driving in 6 runs. Judge had four RBIs plus another homer to add to his lead leaguing tally, and Donaldson drove in three runs with his homer too. The Yankees also decided to mess around and drop a 7-run 8th inning. Final of 15-7, not bad, not bad!
The second game felt like Deja Vu. Another double-digit run game and the fellas homered yet again. Three straight games with a homer for Stanton, and back-to-back with Judge. They are the best duo in baseball and don't at me. (Ohetoni and Trout are there too, but still).
Gallo's bat is starting to heat up, and he went deep as well. His first 16 games resulted in 0 home runs. His Last 15? He's knocked in 5. Don't let the boy get hot! Gerrit Cole looked nice but overstayed his welcome in the 6th. He's now 3-0, lasting 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and six hits. He tallied 9 strikeouts in the performance.
The loss was creating angst for the White Sox. With the bases loaded, catcher Jose Trevino tried to pick off Tim Anderson at third. Donaldson had an aggressive tag, Anderson responded with a push, and the two had words, leading to both teams' benches and bullpens emptying. Salty, salty, salty.
The third game was a dud. After scoring 25 runs the past two games, the offense only managed to ring up 2. They rallied for the tying run in the ninth inning, but a baserunning mistake by IKF cost them a chance to score more. The pitching staff has been lights out for the Yankees, but Chapman has given up a run in his last two outings. I hate how fans are after his neck after a loss, it's blown save in May, relax.
I think his time as a Yank will be over soon, especially with how the bullpen is constructed, but he still is an elite pitcher, with a hot hand and closer ability. Since 2008 he's thrown 273 over 103 MPH. Maybe Boone throws him in as a setup man, but for now, everything will be fine.
To close out the series was another standout performance from our ACE, CY YOUNG CONTENDER, AND FUTURE ALL-STAR STARTER...
Nestor freaking Cortes.
I mean how can't you be entertained? The way Nestor is pitching is out of this world and another factor that makes this team so special. His stretch of success isn't just coming from this season. Since his first start last season (May 30th, 2021), Cortes has an AL-low 2.44 ERA over 133 innings. He has allowed three runs or fewer in 16 straight starts, matching Severino in 2018 for the second-longest such streak in franchise history.
A career-high eight innings, Nestor lead the Yankees to a league-leading 24 wins. Clay Holmes closed the game swimmingly, and Gallo hit another homer. As I said, don't get the boy hot.
Another series win, this season has been so so so so sooo much fun. Looking at the next slate of games, another gift from the scheduling gods. 4 against the Orioles, followed by a rematch of these big bad White Sox. Time to keep pilling on the wins.