Tim gets last laugh with 3-run jack
NEW YORK — Tim Anderson had the last word.
A day after Josh Donaldson called the White Sox shortstop “Jackie,” setting off a benches-clearing incident in the Bronx, Anderson punched a pitch from Yankees reliever Miguel Castro over the right-field wall for a three-run homer, breaking open a tight game with the finishing blow in the Sox’ 5-0 victory Sunday night.
With Michael Kopech taking a perfect game into the sixth inning and pitching seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball in Game 2 after Johnny Cueto pitched six scoreless innings in Game 1, the Sox claimed a doubleheader sweep against baseball’s best team.
Anderson, who did not play in the first game of the twin bill, was booed every time he came to bat in the nightcap. He had three hits, raising his average to .359. Kopech said fans called him “Jackie.”
“That was one of the cooler things I’ve seen, watching an entire crowd showing low class to him, booing him, calling him Jackie and all that stuff and then hitting a homer to put us in position to win,” Kopech said. “I have nothing but respect for him.”
Anderson declined to talk to reporters before and after the doubleheader, which is unusual.
“What a day,” manager Tony La Russa said. “People here booing him and to concentrate and get base hits in a close game and get the big hit at the end, this guy is one of the best players in baseball. He deserves the recognition. Think about the game he had under those circumstances.”
Kopech retired 17 in a row after retiring the last 13 batters he faced in his previous start, against the Yankees in Chicago last Sunday.
On a hot afternoon at Yankee Stadium that required Cueto to chug two bottles of Gatorade on the mound during the sixth inning and receive intravenous fluids after Game 1, AJ Pollock hit a tiebreaking homer against Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning to break a 1-1 tie, and Adam Engel doubled in an insurance run.
Liam Hendriks’ perfect ninth with two strikeouts positioned the Sox for a sweep after the 3-1 victory.
A day after Donaldson offended Anderson, Cueto quieted the Yankees’ bats in typical Cueto fashion.
“I had good command of all my pitches, they had very good movement and I was able to locate them up and down in the zone,” Cueto said. “That was the key to keeping the Yankees off-balance.”
“Like an artist,” La Russa said of Cueto. It had been a frustrating exhibition of futility for the Sox, who were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position through seven innings in the second game, most of it against starter Luis Severino. But Andrew Vaughn finally broke through with an RBI single in the eighth, followed by another from catcher Reese McGuire before Anderson connected.
“Andrew’s clutch hit broke the ice,” La Russa said. “We’re going to work on our hitting with runners on third.”
The sweep, capping a 5-3 road trip that started in Kansas City and included a 7-5 loss Saturday, improved the Sox to 21-20. The Yankees are 29-12.
Donaldson, 0-for-4 but with hard contact three times in Game 1, did not play in Game 2.
NOTE: Left-hander Tanner Banks was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte after the doubleheader.