CHICAGO — With Tim Anderson on third base, Aroldis Chapman gave up a ground-ball single to Luis Robert as the White Sox rallied for a 3-2 walkoff win over the Yankees at Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday.
Anderson hit a one-out single off Chapman, who was clearly bothered by Anderson’s threat to steal second. Chapman then walked Yoan Moncada.
It was the Yankees (24-8) first loss in six games. They have already assured at least a split of this four-game series with the White Sox (16-16) and will go for their 10th series win Sunday in the series finale. The Yankees dropped to 2-7 when they score two runs or fewer this season. It was the first game in the last five the Bombers did not hit a home run, after hitting 11 in their last four games.
It’s nothing new for the Yankees lefty Jordan Montgomery.
Montgomery came into the start averaging just 2.33 runs of support per nine innings. The Yankees have won two of his five starts and scored at least five runs just once — but only two of the runs were scored with him in the game. It’s not a new development, Montgomery has not received much support over his career. More than half of his career 83 starts are no decisions because of that.
Dallas Keuchel shut the Yankees down for five innings, scattering four hits. He walked three and struck out three. The left-hander has always been a thorn in the Yankees’ side, especially in his time with the Astros. In nine starts against the Bombers, Keuchel had a 2.23 ERA.
The Yankees offense, which has scored 25 runs in the first two games of the series, had their chances. DJ LeMahieu led off the game with a single, Giancarlo Stanton led off the second with a double, but the Bombers got nothing. In the fifth, as Keuchel was clearly tiring, he issued two, two-out walks to load the bases. Anthony Rizzo, who has been booed here in his return to the city where he played for a decade across town, came up with a chance to break through and just grounded out harmlessly to second base.
After Montgomery and Keuchel were long gone, the White Sox turned the game over to Joe Kelly, who had imploded on Thursday night, and the Bombers were able to punch through. In the eighth, Aaron Judge lined a one-out single into center field and Rizzo’s ground ball got past a diving Josh Harrison. Stanton singled to bring in the Yankees’ first run.
Tony La Russa, who let Kelly implode Thursday, went and got him after Stanton’s single. Liam Hendriks struck out Donaldson on a 98 mph fastball up in the zone and went to a 99 mph fastball in the same spot to beat Gleyber Torres and end the Yankees’ best threat. That snapped a three-game hitting streak for Torres.
Hendriks walked Joey Gallo to lead off the ninth inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa lined a single to right field to advance Gallo to third. Kyle Higashioka got the run across on a sacrifice fly to right field.
Montgomery was more of a victim in his first five starts, pitching really well and getting nothing to show for it. Saturday night, Montgomery was not as sharp. He struggled to establish his curveball to keep hitters off of his fastball. He got 10 swings and misses, four with the changeup and 11 called strikes, five on his sinker.
He allowed two runs on a Robert, RBI-single and a Moncada home run to lead off the third. It was just the third home run he has allowed this season. The White Sox got six hits off him, he struck out four and walked three. The fourth-inning walk of Adam Engel was the first that Montgomery had issued in 87 batters faced, dating back to his April 21 start in Detroit.
Clarke Schmidt, who just returned to the Yankees bullpen on Friday, gave the Yankees 2.2 scoreless innings. He struck out one. Clay Holmes worked a scoreless eighth inning.
