YANKS GAMEDAY
CHICAGO — The Bombers’ bullpen blew it again.
With Aroldis Chapman unavailable, Dellin Betances imploded in the ninth inning, and the Yankees lost to the White Sox, 4-3.
Brought in to protect a 3-2 lead, Betances issued two walks and hit a batter before Jose Abreu delivered a walk-off, two-run single with the bases loaded and two outs. Opposing batters had been 3-for-36 career with the bases loaded against Betances before the game-winning hit.
Joe Girardi inexplicably turned to Tyler Clippard (inset) in the eighth in a highleverage situation — and somehow, it wasn’t a complete and utter disaster. It certainly almost was. But Clippard managed to cap a grueling 11-pitch at-bat by striking out Matt Davidson with a 3-2 changeup to strand the bases loaded. The Yankees led 3-1 heading into the eighth. Girardi turned to the inexperienced Domingo German, who walked the only two batters he faced. The manager then turned to Clippard, who had given up nine runs and gotten only four outs in his previous three appearances combined. Clippard immediately delivered a wild pitch that moved the runners to second and third. He then walked Melky Cabrera to load the bases with no outs. The 32-year-old righty followed by striking out Abreu and getting Avisail Garcia to fly out to right. He then walked Todd Frazier to force in a run before fanning Davidson and pumping his fist.
After being dominated by Jose Quintana, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez came through with huge hits in the eighth off Anthony Swarzak, enabling the Yankees to take a 3-1 lead. Judge tied the game at 1-1 with a two-out RBI single in the eighth, and Sanchez followed with a two-run double. The story before that inning, though, was Quintana’s dominance. Bringing the 28-year-old lefty back to the Bronx might be a good idea. The former Yankee farmhand pitched 6.1 shutout innings. He allowed just two hits, walked four and struck out six. Only one of those hits left the infield: Judge’s booming double to leftcenter with two outs in the sixth. Luis Severino was equally impressive, striking out a career-high 12 and giving up just one run over seven innings. His fastball was averaging between 98-99 mph, and his slider was devastating.