New York Yankees 1 — Chicago White Sox 8
Amidst a historic scandal, Alex Rodriguez made his 2013 debut in tonight’s 8-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
Andy Pettitte was the victim of bloop singles right from the start. The first four White Sox batters reached base on four singles and none of them were hard hit. With one run already on the board and the bases loaded, Adam Dunn hit a deep fly ball to right field but it was just short of a grand slam. The sacrifice fly brought in the second run and Gordon Beckham would bloop the last hit of the inning to left field for one more run. Pettitte would strike out the last two batters. After just one inning, the Yankees were down by three and there was hardly a hard hit ball in the inning.
In the second inning, the “boo” was in full force at U.S. Cellular Field.
Alex Rodriguez stepped to the plate for his first at-bat in the 2013 season and would proceed to get his first hit too. The first hit was a bloop single to left field between the left fielder and the shortstop. Vernon Wells would hit a double down the left field line but Rodriguez would only make it to third. But with no outs, this would be a great scoring opportunity.
Curtis Granderson would fly out to shallow center field. Ichiro Suzuki would pop out to the shortstop. Finally, Eduardo Nunez would strike out swinging and the Yankees scored no runs in a huge scoring opportunity.
The struggles for Andy Pettitte continued in the second inning. With one out and two on, Alex Rios singled in two and the White Sox had a solid five-run lead just two innings into the game. While the Yankees’ offense still struggled to get going, the White Sox kept the foot on the gas pedal. After two singles and two outs, Alexei Ramirez singled in another run. Pettitte ended his short start with a walk. Preston Claiborne would allow one of Pettitte’s base runners to score on a walk to close off his line.
In 2.2 innings, Andy Pettitte allowed seven runs on 11 hits while walking one and striking out four.
In the fourth inning, Alex Rodriguez would fly out for his second at-bat. Vernon Wells would single with two outs and Curtis Granderson would walk but Ichiro Suzuki would be unable to make anything happen.
The back end of the Yankees lineup would come through With one out in the seventh inning, Eduardo Nunez and Chris Stewart would hit back-to-back singles and turn the lineup over to Brett Gardner. A wild pitch helped the Yankees out as Brett Gardner hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field and kept the Yankees from being shutout for a small victory in a tough loss.
While the offense continues to struggle, going hitless in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position, the pitching will be held accountable too. Andy Pettitte did allow 11 hits but eight of them were singles and less than that were hit hard. The usually dependable bullpen showed some weakness. Shawn Kelley went two innings in tonight’s game and is usually known for his strikeout capabilities, walked three while only striking out one. In tonight’s game, the Yankees walked seven. Hard to win when you give up free base runners.
Win – Jose Quintana (6-3)
Loss – Andy Pettitte (7-9)
Notables
Yankees
*Brett Gardner – 1 for 4, 2B, RBI (35)
*Eduardo Nunez – 1 for 4, R
White Sox
*Alex Rios – 2 for 4, R, BB, 4 RBI (55)
*Alexei Ramirez – 4 for 5, R, 2B, 2 RBI (29)
Current Yankees Record: 57-54
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