On the eve of one of the city’s biggest celebrations in years — a parade for the NBA champion Knicks — the Yankees got the party started early.
With Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart in The Bronx to throw out the ceremonial first pitches and then watch from a suite, the Yankees put on a show Wednesday behind another relentless offensive attack.
Every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit for the second straight night as the Yankees pounded the White Sox yet again, 10-5, in front of 38,558, including two freshly crowned champions.
Brunson and Hart were the main attraction for many of those fans at the start of the night and whenever they came into sight following their first pitches, but the Yankees (45-27) gave them plenty to watch on the field, too, as they won for the eighth time in their last nine games.
Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all homered as the Yankees raced out to an early lead and then piled on from there, scoring 22 runs through the first two games of this series against one of the other four American League teams who entered the night with a winning record.
“That’s at its best right there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “When everyone’s playing a role and you’re getting meaningful contributions from everyone and you’re winning baseball games, that leads to good times and good vibes. You love it that way. You know you’re going to go through your challenging moments, so you try to embrace this and keep it going as best you can.”
Carlos Rodón struck out seven while grinding through five innings, with all of the damage he allowed coming on one swing: Colson Montgomery’s three-run homer in the top of the third inning, which pulled the White Sox (38-34) within 4-3.
But that was as close as it would get, as the Yankees blew the game open with a five-run fifth inning capped by Goldschmidt’s three-run home run to the short porch off righty reliever Tyler Davis.
The Yankees are playing without two former MVPs in Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, but still have two more playing like their best versions in Bellinger and Goldschmidt.
With his 11th home run of the year, the 38-year-old Goldschmidt surpassed his home run tally for all of last season (10 in 146 games), doing so in just 47 games to help the Yankees withstand the losses of Judge and Stanton.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Bellinger said. “Lefty, righty, pull-side homers, oppo homers, hitting singles and playing great defense, he’s been tremendous. Obviously a future Hall of Famer. Just been really fun to watch with my own eyes.”
Bellinger, meanwhile, finished a triple short of the cycle as he continued to do everything well. He is hitting .304 with a .941 OPS across his last 43 games.
The Yankees, who improved to 18-6 when facing a left-handed starter this season by beating up on White Sox southpaw (and former Mets prospect) Anthony Kay, have just kept plugging along even as the injuries have piled up, now missing nearly half of their Opening Day lineup.
“We have a good mindset about it,” Rodón said. “We go out there every day trying to win a baseball game. There’s no excuses in this room. Obviously, it’s tough when G is out, Judgey’s out, and those guys are so dynamic at the plate. But it’s great that our guys are still going out there and putting together good at-bats, still scoring a lot of runs. This team’s very capable.”
After clubbing four home runs in Tuesday’s 12-2 win, the Yankees picked up where they left off by racing out to a 4-0 lead.
After Montgomery’s first of two homers made it 4-3, the Yankees put the game out of reach in the fifth, honoring Brunson and Hart by delivering another win.
“That was cool,” Bellinger said. “Obviously, we were all super tuned into the [NBA Finals] and the postseason. Saw them pregame and what they were able to accomplish is pretty amazing. It was cool to see them.”
