White Sox 5, Yankees 1: Andrew Benintendi’s grand slam backs Sean Burke

After consecutive nights of getting their teeth kicked in, the Chicago White Sox were in need of a good pitching night against the powerful New York Yankees. It wouldn’t hurt if they could string some runs together, too. Any sort of positivity that they could carry out from the Bronx and on their way to a key division road series in Detroit.

The long ball played a big factor once again for the White Sox, but two pleasant surprises provided by Sean Burke and Andrew Benintendi powered a 5-1 win on Thursday night.

Colson Montgomery continued his heater in the second inning when he hit his 20th home run of the season, and his third of the series, giving the White Sox an early 1-0 lead. Bryan Hudson opened the game and did a fine job in 1.2 innings, only allowing one hit while striking out two.

Sean Burke entered in the third inning, and Ryan McMahon welcomed him by teeing off on a 2-1 sinker for a solo home run. McMahon’s 8th home run of the season tied the game, 1-1. But that first batter wasn’t a sign of bad things to come for Burke. For a pitcher who has struggled with walks, Burke was looking to get right against the powerful Yankees.

Not an easy task, but Burke attacked Yankees hitters with a barrage of sliders and four-seamers clocking in at 98 MPH. He did face a little trouble when Anthony Volpe hit a deep fly that sailed over Junior Perez. An easy double, but Volpe tried his luck testing the White Sox rookie, making his MLB debut. Perez made an accurate throw to Montgomery, who tagged Volpe out several feet away from third base.

Burke then froze Spencer Jones on a 97 MPH fastball for his sixth strikeout, keeping the game tied.

Leading off the eighth inning, Sam Antonacci ripped a line drive down the right field line for a leadoff double. With Perez’s spot up, manager Will Venable opted for Jacob Gonzalez to pinch hit. Yankees manager Aaron Boone countered that move by summoning Tim Hill to face Gonzalez. After his first bunt attempt went foul, Hill’s inside fastball got away from him and nailed Gonzalez.

With runners on first and second with no outs, next was Tristan Peters. This situation harkens back to the failed bunt execution during the Atlanta series. Yankees corner infielders were quite aggressive with positioning, creeping closer to home plate. Peters tried twice to bunt, but both attempts went foul. Then, in a very odd way, Hill’s 0-2 fastball nailed Peters in the back of his leg. Back-to-back hits by pitches loaded the bases with no outs.

Chase Meidroth had the first attempt to do some damage, but he struck out after whiffing on a high fastball. Boone made his second pitching change of the inning, calling for Camilo Doval to face Randal Grichuk. Venable would counter that pitching move, calling for Andrew Benintendi to pinch hit.

On the very first pitch, a 100 MPH sinker, Benintendi blasted a 393-foot deep fly for a grand slam. Benintendi’s fourth career grand slam silenced the Bronx crowd as the White Sox took a 5-1 lead.  

With a bit of a cushion, Venable stuck with Burke, and it was another move that paid off. Jose Caballero struck out for a second time in the game, McMahon lined out to Montgomery at third base, and J.C. Escarra flew out harmlessly to right field for a quick 1-2-3 inning. Taking care of the bottom of the order with ease allowed Venable to think about attacking the Yankees' top hitters in the ninth inning.

Instead of calling for Grant Taylor or Seranthony Dominguez, Venable stuck with Burke. Ben Rice gave a scare with a deep foul ball towards right field, and then followed that up with a deep fly to center field. But Peters tracked the ball well, catching it on the warning track for a loud out. After a broken bat single from Paul Goldschmidt, Burke got Cody Bellinger to fly out to left field. With two outs, Burke made very quick work of Jasson Dominguez. On his final pitch of the night, Burke dotted a 99.3 MPH fastball for a strikeout looking.

Burke’s performance is the type that makes fans believe he can be a frontline starter. While it’s not always consistent, Thursday night was perfect timing for Burke to harness his stuff and put up a final pitching line of 7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 8 K on 88 pitches. Now the White Sox head to Detroit for a key divisional series with rested key relievers and a win in the Bronx.

Game Notes

• 11 of the 12 runs scored by the White Sox in this series was via the home run
• Colson Montgomery went 2-for-3 with his home run and a walk. His season OPS is now .841
• Tonight’s win snapped an eight game losing streak vs. AL East opponents
• With Cleveland winning in Milwaukee, the White Sox AL Central lead by winning percentage is .001. 
• The White Sox finish this two week gauntlet against Philadelphia, Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York with a 6-5 record. 

Record: 39-34 | Box Score | StatCast