Sanchez Three-Run Blast Breaks It Open, Yankees Escape Chicago 9-5
Ali Sanchez's 371-foot home run to left in the eighth inning plated three runs and turned a one-run Yankees lead into a five-run cushion. New York overcame a three-run first-inning deficit to beat Chicago 9-5 on July 27.
The White Sox came out swinging. Colson Montgomery singled to right to score Grichuk, Meidroth followed with a sacrifice fly, and B. Montgomery tripled to left to score C. Montgomery — all in the first inning, all off Max Fried, who allowed 5 hits and 3 earned runs across just 3.0 innings. Chicago looked in control at 3-0, and the story of the early innings appeared to be a Yankees pitching staff that couldn't find its footing.
New York answered in the fourth. Volpe grounded out to shortstop but Rice scored on the play. Then Jazz Chisholm Jr. doubled to center, scoring both Domínguez and Goldschmidt to tie it at three. A groundout by Jones scored Chisholm Jr. and gave the Yankees a 4-3 lead — four runs on a string of contact, none of it flashy, all of it effective. Chicago clawed one back in the fifth when C. Montgomery singled to right to score Vargas, knotting it at four. That's where things stood heading into the seventh, and it looked like the White Sox — playing at home — had a real chance. The win probability sat at 51% in their favor. Then Ben Rice singled to right, Rosario scored, and the home win probability swung from 51% to 33%, an 18-point shift that proved to be the hinge of the game.
The eighth inning finished it. Chisholm Jr. reached on a bunt single to the pitcher, and a throwing error by pitcher Newcomb scored Domínguez and put Volpe at third — chaos that the Yankees happily accepted. Then Sanchez stepped up and hit a 371-foot home run to left, scoring Chisholm Jr. and Grisham to make it 9-4. Chicago got a consolation run in the ninth on a fielding error by Volpe at shortstop, but the outcome was never in doubt. Chisholm Jr. finished 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Domínguez went 2-for-5 with 2 runs. C. Montgomery was the lone White Sox bright spot, going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI — but it appears that individual effort wasn't nearly enough to offset New York's eighth-inning eruption. The Yankees scored five runs in the final two innings and didn't need a clean performance to win this one; they just needed the White Sox to blink first.