Yankees Rough Up Samardzija, Beat White Sox, 12-3
CHICAGO (AP) — Jacoby Ellsbury and Mark Teixeira homered against Jeff Samardzija, and the New York Yankees pounded the Chicago White Sox, 12-3, on Sunday.
Stephen Drew added three hits and four RBIs, helping the AL East-leading Yankees close out a 6-4 road trip — matching a season long. Ellsbury drove in three runs, and Didi Gregorius had two hits and two RBIs.
New York also got a lift from Ivan Nova (4-3), who pitched six innings of five-hit ball in his third consecutive victory. Nova's previous start on Monday at Texas was cut short by arm fatigue, a condition he contributed to his comeback from Tommy John surgery in April 2014.
Chicago was coming off an 8-2 victory on Saturday night and averaged seven runs in its previous 10 games, but Nova allowed just one run on Melky Cabrera's RBI single in the sixth.
Samardzija (8-6) was tagged for nine runs, matching a season high, and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings. Samardzija, who is eligible for free agency after the season, also walked two and hit two batters in his first start since the White Sox decided to keep the right-hander at Friday's non-waiver trade deadline.
Ellsbury drove Samardzija's second pitch of the game over the wall in center for his first leadoff homer of the season and No. 12 for his career. He also had a sacrifice fly in New York's five-run fourth inning and a run-scoring groundout in the seventh.
Teixeira led off the fifth with his 29th homer, a 415-foot drive to right on a 3-1 pitch. The slugger connected from both sides of the plate in New York's 13-6 victory in the series opener on Friday night and had five homers in the last four games of the road trip.
A two-out walk for Gregorius sent Samardzija to the dugout, and Drew greeted Scott Carroll with a two-run double. Drew also had a two-run triple against Carroll in the seventh.
Alexei Ramirez and Geovany Soto homered for the White Sox, and Jose Abreu extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the first.
SIR DIDI
Gregorius also scored three times. The slick-fielding shortstop is batting .472 (17 for 36) in his last 11 games.
WORTH NOTING
The Yankees begin a six-game homestand on Tuesday night against the Red Sox. The series finale against the White Sox was their last game of the regular season outside of the Eastern time zone.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: Reliever Diego Moreno (right elbow inflammation) was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Manager Joe Girardi said he will be examined by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad on Monday. "It's unfortunate," Girardi said. "Hopefully it's not long." RHP Branden Pinder was promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings. ... RF Carlos Beltran returned to the lineup after missing Saturday's game with a sore left foot. ... LHP CC Sabathia remains on track to start Thursday against Boston. Sabathia was taken to a hospital with symptoms of dehydration after pitching five-plus innings in a 7-6 loss at the Rangers last Thursday.
White Sox: Manager Robin Ventura said RHP Nate Jones is doing well on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte. Jones had Tommy John surgery a year ago. "You want him to get to a point where you can get him multiple innings and extend him somewhat," Ventura said. "Because that's going to happen here, it always does."
UP NEXT
Yankees: Following an off day, RHP Masahiro Tanaka (7-4, 3.80 ERA) gets the ball for the Yankees in the series opener against the Red Sox.
White Sox: LHP Jose Quintana (6-9, 3.52 ERA) goes for his third straight win when Chicago opens a three-game set against Tampa Bay on Monday night. RHP Nathan Karns (6-5, 3.37 ERA) also tries for his third consecutive victory for the Rays.
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