Yankees survive a sloppy first inning to sink the White Sox

The first inning was a mess before Max Fried even settled in. A burned challenge, a missed tag on Randal Grichuk, a non-review on a play at third and Rob Schuemann getting hurt all happened before the White Sox had even finished batting, and Chicago cashed in with a 3-spot to jump ahead early.

Barstool Baseball

@StoolBaseball

White Sox with a 3 spot vs Fried in the 1st!

That kind of start would sink most teams, but the Yankees have made a habit this season of grinding their way back into games. Jazz Chisholm Jr. got them level with a shot to the wall, and the lead kept changing hands as both bullpens got tested. It wasn't clean baseball, but it was the kind of scrap-it-out inning-by-inning battle that turns into a fun one in the rearview.

Barstool Baseball

@StoolBaseball

Jazzzzzzz to the wall and we’re tied!

The game stayed knotted at 4-4 into the 7th before Ben Rice delivered the kind of at-bat that's defined his breakout year. Left-on-left, two outs, and a lineup that had already failed twice to bring the runner home, Rice found a base hit anyway to put the Yankees ahead. It's the type of situational hitting that's helped make him a legitimate MVP-caliber bat this season, and it showed up again when it mattered most.

Eric Hubbs

@BarstoolHubbs

Left on left, two outs, gotta find a base hit to drive the runner home. Previous two guys failed. Your lineup might not get a better chance to score the rest of the game with what's going on. Ben delivers. I love him so much.

Rice getting looked at by a trainer after the play was a nervy moment for a Yankees team that's already been picking up injuries by the week, a point Marty Mush noted while the club was mid-comeback: if New York can survive the attrition, the roster underneath it looks scary come October. The Yankees didn't need to find out how serious it was in the moment, because the game kept tilting their way.

Then came the moment nobody saw coming. Ali Sanchez, in his 5th big-league season and just his 75th career game, turned on a 3-2 fastball from Sean Newcomb for a 3-run homer that blew the game open and sent the Yankees dugout into a frenzy.

New York piled on 4 more runs in the 8th to put it away 9-5, capping a night that started with self-inflicted chaos and ended with a career milestone nobody scripted. For a White Sox team fielding trade-deadline questions about starting pitching, bullpen help and catching depth, giving up a game like this to a club playing shorthanded is the kind of loss that stings a little extra.