CHICAGO – You’ll hear no apologies from the Yankees as they continue to pound weaker opponents, swinging big and padding their offensive numbers. It has been a roller-coaster season, and as they gear up for the stretch drive, they’ll ride these highs as long as they can.
Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham homered as the Yankees notched their fifth consecutive win on Thursday evening, a 10-4 victory over the White Sox at Rate Field – a performance that, at least in one corner, sparked dreams about more than an August drubbing of a last-place club.
“We want to win the division. We don’t just want to get to a Wild Card spot,” Chisholm said. “ … Right now, it’s just like, we’re going to go out there and win that – and then we’re going to go and win the World Series.”
Thursday’s victory moved the Yankees (74-60) four games behind the Blue Jays (78-56) for the American League East lead, and a half-game behind the Red Sox (75-60). While the Yanks have struggled mightily against Toronto and Boston this year (4-15), they do have three games remaining against each club.
“I still feel like our best baseball is in front of us,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Knock on wood, we’re healthy. There’s real length to the order, and there’s places that can hurt you up and down the order. There’s a speed element with a number of guys. We have a lot of good players doing some good things right now.”
A big part of that surge has been power. With three more homers Thursday, the Yankees matched a Major League record for team homers in a 10-game span (33, by the 1977 Red Sox, 2006 Braves and 2019 Dodgers).
“Nothing’s impossible,” Bellinger said. “We have faith in everyone in here – pitchers, bullpen, lineup. We’ve got to keep playing our game. Good things can happen.”
They’ve also capitalized on a softer portion of their schedule. Since Aug. 11, the Yankees have won 11 of 12 games against the Twins, Cardinals, Rays, Nationals and White Sox – all clubs under .500.
The lone interruption: dropping three of four to the Red Sox last week – a lingering concern with a big Astros series looming after this South Side stop.
But the Yankees have the easiest remaining strength of schedule among all AL clubs (.477), and they’ll happily bank wins wherever they can find them.
“Those guys are still throwing a baseball really hard, and we’ve got to hit it,” Bellinger said. “They’re trying to get hits off our pitchers. Ultimately, it’s the same game plan: Show up and [figure out], ‘How are we going to win today?’”
New York built an early lead behind Bellinger’s two-run homer in the first inning, Chisholm’s solo blast in the second and a Ben Rice RBI single. But Anthony Volpe’s AL-high 18th error opened the door for Chicago’s four-run second, punctuated by Miguel Vargas’ first career grand slam off Will Warren.
Warren regrouped, with encouragement from Aaron Judge: “Hey, we’re going to put up runs,” the captain told him in the dugout.
“I trust that. We’re going to do that,” Warren said. “We have the capability of putting up 10 every night. I just needed to go as far as I could in this game.”
The Yankees pulled back ahead in the fifth when Judge and Vargas collided at first base, the error bringing in the go-ahead run. Vargas exited with what the White Sox announced as a left wrist contusion. Chisholm’s sacrifice fly later in the inning gave Warren the room to finish what the hurler described as five “gritty” frames.
Volpe added insurance with a sac fly in the eighth – part of a productive evening that marked the slumping shortstop’s first multihit game since Aug. 1 at Miami.
“It’s obviously [been] frustrating, because you want to get results and help the team, and you’re not doing that,” Volpe said. “At the same time, I feel like I was close and in a good spot. I feel like I was taking good swings and putting together pretty good at-bats.”
Volpe was out of the lineup on consecutive days during the Yanks’ series against the Nationals, the first time in his three-year big league career that has happened. Boone said he hopes Thursday’s performance marks a turning point.
“He’s such an important part of what we do, so hopefully this is something he can build on,” Boone said.
