CHICAGO — The Yankees don’t often lose to the White Sox, but when they do, they lose in dramatic fashion.
Aroldis Chapman agreed on Luis Roberts’ game-winning single, which Tim Anderson scored with an out in the bottom ninth goal, and the Yankees had ended their five-game winning streak with a 3-2 loss in guaranteed rate field.
It was only the Yankees’ second loss in their last 11 games against the White Sox. The other was last year’s Field of Dreams game in Iowa, which ended in an Anderson homer.
This time Anderson sat out Chapman with an out and Yoan Moncada left before Robert finished.
“Things got a little complicated,” Chapman said through an interpreter from the Ninth. “You have to give them credit. You got the job done.”
Luis Robert celebrates after his walk-off single. Getty Images
Aroldis Chapman plays during the Yankees’ loss to the White Sox on Saturday. USA TODAY sports
Chapman has batted nine times in his last 8 ²/₃ innings, none of which cost more than that against Moncada on Saturday.
However, the Yankees only went 1-for-8 with runners in goal position and had their best chances late in the game, suffering a self-inflicted wound to end a rally.
After the White Sox led 2-1 at the top of ninth place, Joey Gallo walked Liam Hendriks, who had entered eighth place, to save Joe Kelly.
Luis Robert gets a shower after the White Sox beat the Yankees. Getty Images
Isiah Kiner-Falefa followed with a single to the right, sending Gallo into third place.
With Kyle Higashioka at the plate, Kiner-Falefa stole second place. Higashioka hit a sacrificial fly to the left which Gallo scored to level the game. However, Kiner-Falefa was kicked out trying to move up to third for the second out when Moncada interrupted AJ Pollock’s throw and threw to Anderson, who covered the pocket.
Kiner-Falefa called it a “fool’s game” and clarified that he wasn’t trying to pull the shot to ensure Gallo scored.
Aroldis Chapman reacts during the Yankees’ loss to the White Sox. AP
“It was a bad reading,” said Kiner-Falefa, adding that he thought the toss would go over Moncada and onto the plate. “I’m already in goal position. … That can’t happen. Whenever the big boys show up, you can’t get kicked out third.”
DJ LeMahieu followed by slamming with Aaron Judge on deck, leaving the score tied by the end of ninth position.
The Yankees grabbed a run in the eighth but had a shot at more. Giancarlo Stanton prevailed in the judge, but with runners second and third and one out, Hendriks beat Josh Donaldson and Gleyber Torres at 98 mph four sailors.
The Yankees waited until pitcher Jordan Montgomery left the game to start scoring runs.
In seven starts, Montgomery has picked up just 2.29 runs per support game, which is one full run fewer than anyone else in the Yankees rotation. Next is Nestor Cortes with 3.83.
The Yankees have only had more than three runs for Montgomery once this season. It was similar on Saturday against Dallas Keuchel, the left-hander who has plagued the Yankees throughout his career.
Keuchel entered the game with a 2.23 ERA in nine career starts against the Yankees and a 6.86 overall ERA that year. That was somewhat skewed by a one-inning disaster against the Guardians on April 20 when Keuchel conceded seven earned runs.
Keuchel pitched five scoreless innings on Saturday.
Jordan Montgomery reacts during the Yankees’ loss to the White Sox. AP
Montgomery was shaky from the start. Anderson led with a single from the end of first and moved into second with a grounder from Moncada. Robert ripped a shot, just a foul, before Anderson scored with his single to center to give Chicago a 1-0 lead in a 26-pitch inning.
Montgomery and the Yankees fell further behind when Moncada hit a leadoff homer to center in the bottom third.
Montgomery’s struggles continued at the end of the fourth. The left-hander hadn’t walked a batter in his previous three starts or the first three innings on Saturday, but gave up back-to-back walks to Adam Engel and Josh Harrison with an out in the fourth. He tricked Anderson into hitting in an inning-ending double play, but to keep it a two-run game.
Kiner-Falefa outed with an out in the fifth, and LeMahieu and Judge pulled two out walks and set Rizzo up with loaded bases.
But Rizzo, with just five hits and two RBIs in his previous 40 plate appearances, ended up in second place to end the threat.