Inside The Pinstripes

Judge, Stanton Lead Yankees in Blowout Win Over White Sox

Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton combined to drive in 10 runs, scoring six with three home runs on Thursday night in Chicago.

Max Goodman

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CHICAGO — Any time Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge both homer in the same game, the Yankees are practically unbeatable.

In fact, entering play on Thursday night in Chicago, New York had won 16 of the 17 regular season games where both of their colossal sluggers leave the yard.  

That one loss came against the White Sox last summer in the Field of Dreams Game in Iowa and for a moment on Thursday night, Chicago was poised to play spoiler for a second time.

Just when the White Sox battled back in the late innings, however, the Yankees erupted, dropping a seven-spot on Chicago's bullpen in the top of the eighth (all with two outs). That big inning, mixed with huge performances from Judge and Stanton, paved the way to New York's 15-7 victory under the lights at Guaranteed Rate Field.

While the first five hitters in New York's lineup drove in all 15 runs, 10 of them came from Stanton and Judge. Those two combined to go 5-for-8 with three homers, six runs scored and 10 runs driven in.

Stanton got the Yankees started with a pair of two-run home runs in his first two at-bats of the game. With starter Luis Gil giving up three runs in the second inning, both of Stanton's long balls—each soaring to the opposite field—were go-ahead blasts.

"You don't expect to throw two touchdowns up there on a night when Dylan Cease is pitching, with the kind of start he's been off to," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the game. "A lot of really good at-bats off of him, obviously Big G getting two big ones to get us rolling."

After jumping out to 7-4 lead in the seventh on Judge's 11th home run of the year, the most in all of baseball, New York's bullpen faltered. 

Right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga served up a game-tying, three-run bomb off the bat of Yoan Moncada in the bottom of the frame, the third baseman's first home run of the season. 

Loáisiga was one of the most dominant relievers in all of baseball a season ago, posting a 2.17 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 57 appearances (70.2). This year, in just 13.2 frames, he's already given up nine earned runs. 

With the score tied in the bottom of the eighth, however, New York wasted no time jumping back in front. After loading the bases, Judge drove in two more runs on an infield single with the bases loaded. As he beat out the throw from second baseman Leury García, Gleyber Torres never stopped running, scoring from second base.

"Usually the momentum swings when they tie it up, especially at home, but we were chilling," Stanton said. "We were like, 'alright we've got more work to do and kept pushing it.'"

New York wasn't done. Stanton followed two batters later with a two-run single. 

Third baseman Josh Donaldson put the Yankees up by a touchdown seconds later with a three-run dinger to left, sending most of the remaining White Sox fans in attendance flocking to the exits. 

For good measure, in the top of the ninth, Judge added his fourth run batted in of the night on a sacrifice fly to right field. 

The win for New York takes their record on the season up to 23-8, still the best mark in all of baseball. The Yankees have won 16 of their last 18 games and will look to extend their latest winning streak to five games on Friday night with ace Gerrit Cole on the mound. 

Asked about New York's ability to bounce back after losing the lead, before pouring it on late, Judge said it's something this team has been able to do all year, a testament to how much they want to win ballgames, no matter the situation.

"It speaks volumes to the type of guys we have in this clubhouse. It doesn't matter what the score is. It doesn't matter if we're down, it doesn't matter if we're up," he said. "We want to win."

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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