Yankees Clinch Playoff Berth With Wild Walk-Off Win Vs. White Sox
New York is headed back to October
On Tuesday, the New York Yankees became the second American League team to secure a playoff spot, joining the Toronto Blue Jays with a 3-2 walk-off win over the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium.
It wasn’t easy for the Yankees, who improved to 89-68 with their third straight win and sixth in their last seven games despite leaving 11 men on base.
New York scratched out an early run against Shane Smith in the second inning, but the White Sox rallied for two in the sixth off Luis Gil, who bounced back from a rough outing against the Minnesota Twins with his third quality start in his last four games.
The Yankees’ bullpen held Chicago in check, keeping the score at 2-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth. Down to its last out after a rally-killing double play, New York clawed back against the White Sox’s bullpen.
With runners at the corners and the Yankees down to their final strike, Brandon Eisert sailed a fastball over the catcher’s head, allowing the tying run to score and the winning run to move into scoring position.
Eisert was lifted for Steven Wilson, who battled pinch-hitter Jose Caballero through a nine-pitch at-bat. On the final pitch, Caballero laced a game-winning single to center field, clinching another postseason trip for the defending AL champions.
With the Blue Jays falling 4-1 to the Boston Red Sox, New York now trails the former by just one game with five to play, keeping its division title hopes alive. The Yankees have two more games against the hapless White Sox — who suffered their AL-leading 99th loss — before hosting the last-place Baltimore Orioles this weekend.
New York will try to tie Toronto in the standings on Wednesday behind Max Fried, who’s won five straight starts and is looking to end his first regular season with the Yankees on a high note.
