Yankees hang tough against the White Sox

CHICAGO — Gerrit Cole delivered six scoreless innings, and the New York Yankees survived a ninth inning scare to defeat the Chicago White Sox, 3–2, Tuesday night at Rate Field.

The Yankees produced all three of their runs in the second inning. Jasson Domínguez and Trent Grisham opened the rally with hits before Anthony Volpe drove home Domínguez with an RBI double. Max Schuemann followed with a two-run double, scoring Grisham and Volpe and giving New York an early 3–0 advantage.

That modest lead was enough for Cole, who kept Chicago off balance throughout his 99-pitch outing. The right-hander allowed four hits and two walks while striking out seven, escaping his biggest threat with the bases loaded in the fourth inning. The performance improved Cole’s record to 4–5 and lowered his ERA to 3.57.

Angel Chivilli and Brent Headrick protected the shutout with scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. Chivilli needed only eight pitches, while Headrick completed his inning with five.

The game became far less comfortable in the ninth. After Braden Montgomery reached base against closer David Bednar, Chase Meidroth launched a two-run homer to left field, cutting the Yankees’ lead to one. Bednar recovered, however, striking out three in the inning and securing his 22nd save.

New York finished with six hits, led by Domínguez’s two-hit performance. Volpe and Schuemann supplied the decisive RBIs, while the Yankees’ defense played an error-free game behind Cole and the bullpen.

The 3–2 victory raised the Yankees’ record to 61–46 and gave them consecutive wins over the White Sox to open the series. More importantly, it offered another encouraging glimpse of Cole at his best: commanding the strike zone, navigating trouble and handing a lead to the bullpen. The Yankees’ offense went quiet after its second-inning burst, but on Tuesday night, three runs—and one final nerve-racking inning—proved to be enough.