Chicago, IL – Chris Sale pitched effectively into the eighth inning and the Chicago White Sox got just enough off a stingy Hiroki Kuroda to upend the New York Yankees, 3-2, at U.S. Cellular Field.
Sale (7-11), who had come away victorious just once in his previous 11 starts, limited the Yankees to one run on five hits and four walks over 7 1/3 frames.
"They're the greatest franchise in all of sports, so you got to bring your 'A' game," Sale said of the Bronx Bombers.
Alejandro De Aza went 2-for-4 with the eventual game-deciding RBI and threw out a runner at home for the ChiSox, who were mired in a 10-game losing streak prior to winning the first two meetings of this three-game set.
Kuroda (10-7) lost for the first time in over a month after coughing up three runs on nine hits over seven innings for New York, which fell to 2-5 on an eight-game trip.
The addition of Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees' lineup has not sparked a sudden surge in production, though the embattled slugger reached base three times in four plate appearances Tuesday with a single, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
"I was seeing the ball pretty well tonight," Rodriguez said. "I'm just trying to get my timing down."
The Yankees pulled within a run in the ninth courtesy of Brett Gardner's two- out RBI single, but Addison Reed struck out Alfonso Soriano to close out his 27th save.
The game was a matchup between two of top ERA leaders in the AL, and it was predictably tough to score on either starter.
The Yankees got their first run in the first inning and did so without a hit. Soriano grounded into a fielder's choice after Gardner opened the game with a walk, then stole second base.
Sale's pitch to Rodriguez got through the legs of catcher Josh Phegley, and the ball hit home plate umpire Alan Porter's right shin pad. The backstop couldn't locate the ball as it caromed toward the home dugout, and Soriano raced around and scored without a play at the plate.
Unfortunately for New York, there was a play at the plate two innings later when Gardner tried scoring from second on Robinson Cano's base hit. De Aza's throw from left field was on target, and the bang-bang call at home went in favor of the hosts after Gardner came in standing up.
The White Sox tied it in the fourth as Adam Dunn galloped around from second base on Conor Gillaspie's two-out single to right field, which ended Kuroda's scoreless streak at 17 innings.
Vernon Wells hit into a fielder's choice to leave the bases loaded in the away fifth, and the White Sox went ahead for good in the sixth.
With runners on the corners and one out, Paul Konerko beat out potential double-play ball to knock in Alexei Ramirez, and De Aza doubled over the head of Wells in right to plate Gordon Beckham for a much-needed insurance run in the seventh.
Game Notes
The White Sox have won five straight against the Yankees for the first time since the 2000 season ... Coming into the game, Sale had received 2.47 runs of support, the lowest in the major leagues ... Kuroda last suffered defeat on June 20 against Baltimore. He went 3-0 with a 0.55 earned run average over 33 innings in July ... Kuroda's ERA rose to 2.45 and Sale's dipped to 2.83 ... Jayson Nix recorded New York's only extra-base hit with a double in the fourth inning.
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