Cole Shuts Down Chicago as Yankees Survive Late Scare

Gerrit Cole threw 6.0 innings of shutout ball — 4 hits, 0 earned runs, 7 strikeouts — and New York built a three-run cushion in the second inning that ultimately held up in a 3-2 win over the White Sox on July 28. Chase Meidroth's 406-foot two-run shot in the ninth made it interesting, but the Yankees had just enough.

The game was effectively decided in one violent second inning. With Grisham on base, Anthony Volpe doubled to center, scoring Domínguez and sending Grisham to third — the swing that moved Chicago's win probability from 43% down to 28%, a 15-point crater that the White Sox never fully climbed out of. One batter later, Max Schuemann doubled to left, scoring both Grisham and Volpe, and just like that New York was up 3-0 before the White Sox had time to blink. Schuemann went 1-for-2 on the night but made it count, accounting for 2 RBI in that single at-bat. Volpe added 1 RBI and scored himself. Jasson Domínguez was quietly efficient, going 2-for-3 and crossing the plate in that pivotal second frame.

The story of the night on the mound was Cole. He was locked in from the jump — 6.0 innings, 4 hits, zero earned runs, 2 walks, and 7 punchouts. Anthony Kay matched the strikeout total for Chicago, also fanning 7, but surrendered all 3 earned runs across 5.1 innings on 5 hits. The difference in the pitching matchup looks like the margin of the game itself. Tyler Schweitzer came on in relief for the White Sox and was excellent — 3.0 innings, 1 hit, 0 earned runs — but by then the damage was done. Angel Chivilli closed it out for New York with a clean 1.0 inning, no hits, no walks.

Chicago's only real moment came in the ninth, and it was a loud one. Braden Montgomery — who went 2-for-3 on the night — reached base, and Meidroth followed with a 406-foot blast to left, a two-run shot that cut the deficit to one and suddenly made the final out feel a lot heavier than it should have. Meidroth finished 1-for-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored, and that home run appears to be the only reason anyone in Chicago is still watching highlights. It wasn't enough. New York takes this one 3-2, built on a second-inning explosion and Cole's dominance through six.