Stanton, Judge homer again as Yankees beat White Sox
CHICAGO — Aaron Judge remembers watching Giancarlo Stanton from a distance during his 2017 NL MVP season.
"It was special," he said.
The tear Stanton is on now has a familiar feel.
Stanton homered in his third consecutive game, Judge went deep for the second time in two nights and the New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 10-4 on Friday.
"I think about the second half of '17 for him and how I'd turn on MLB Network," Judge said. "Every other day it felt like he was getting a homer, two-run homer, three-run homer, 2 for 3, two walks. You couldn't throw him anything."
It's been that way lately, too.
Stanton set the Yankees on course for their 19th win in 22 games when he smacked a two-run drive in the first inning against Vince Velasquez (2-3). He did that after hitting two homers and driving in a career-high six runs in Thursday's 15-7 win.
Judge made it 6-0 with a solo shot in the fourth — his major league-leading 12th home run.
Josh Donaldson also homered in his second straight game and drove in three runs, and Joey Gallo went deep, too.
Gerrit Cole (3-0) lasted 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and six hits. The right-hander struck out nine and walked one, helping New York improve to a major league-best 24-8.
The White Sox lost for the third time in four games. The reigning AL Central champions have been outscored 41-21 in that span by Cleveland and New York.
"We got torched," manager Tony La Russa said. "It was almost always we missed our location. You would see the catcher setting up the pitcher in a different place, and missing. That's what a hitter is supposed to do. They punished it."
Gavin Sheets homered for Chicago, and Luis Robert had two hits and scored twice. Velasquez got tagged for seven runs and eight hits in five innings.
GOING DEEP
After setting season highs with 15 runs and 15 hits, the relentless Yankees grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first on a drive by Stanton that just cleared the center-field wall. The home run was his fourth in three games and 10th this season.
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Things got heated in the bottom half when, with the bases loaded, catcher Jose Trevino tried to pick Tim Anderson off third after Sheets struck out.
Donaldson appeared to knee and push the diving runner while applying the tag. Anderson responded with a push, and the two had words, leading to both teams' benches and bullpens emptying. The umpires quickly restored order, and Cole struck out AJ Pollock to end that threat.
Donaldson called it a "baseball play" while acknowledging he "leaned on him a little bit."
"Not intentionally," he added. "I just want to go make the tag. Obviously, he didn't like that. Two guys competing, trying to make a play happen right there."
Donaldson also got into a spat with the White Sox last season when he was with the Twins. The slugger appeared to yell "Not sticky anymore" after hitting a homer against White Sox ace Lucas Giolito during a game in Chicago.
Donaldson had been outspoken when it came to pitchers using sticky substances, something MLB starting cracking down on in 2021.
New York scored three more in the second, capped by Donaldson's RBI double.
ROSTER MOVE
The Yankees recalled right-hander Clarke Schmidt from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before the game.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: C Ben Rortvedt (right oblique) will likely have an MRI after a knee problem put his rehab on pause, manager Aaron Boone said. Acquired from Minnesota along with Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in March as part of the deal that sent Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela to the Twins, Rortvedt has played in just two minor-league games this season.
White Sox: Chicago placed Giolito on the COVID-19 injured list. Giolito began experiencing mild symptoms Wednesday, and the White Sox hope to have him pitch during their series at Kansas City next week. ... OF Andrew Vaughn was activated following a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte after being sidelined because of a bruised right hand.
UP NEXT
LHP Jordan Montgomery (0-1, 2.90 ERA) looks to keep his string of solid outings going for New York, while LHP Dallas Keuchel (2-3, 6.86) eyes his second straight win.
