The Yankees were supposed to open a 3-game home series with the Chicago White Sox on Friday night, but the game was rained out. It will be played as part of a doubleheader today.
I had considered going to this game, but, given how hot it was supposed to be, I decided to make it a beach day instead. I made the right choice, but the result had nothing to do with that. I liked the result.
But there was an ugly incident in the 1st inning. Josh Donaldson called the White Sox' Tim Anderson "Jackie," as in Jackie Robinson. "What's up, Jackie?" Donaldson was alleged to have said, Anderson got upset, and there would be shoving, if not an actual fight. Anderson called it a racist comment.
Donaldson said the comment was in reference to a 2019 interview with Sports Illustrated, in which Anderson described himself as feeling like "today's Jackie Robinson" in how he's "getting to a point where I need to change the game." As if that was true: No player has ever changed the game as much as Robinson did, not even Babe Ruth -- at least, not since the pioneers of the game, the men who wrote the rules or caused the rules to be written. Because of Robinson, no one will ever have to change baseball on that kind of level again.
Donaldson said it was a reference about which he's "joked around" with Anderson about it in the past. And Anderson did not deny that part of it.
This was not a racist comment. Anderson did compare himself to Jackie Robinson. This is like when Jim Bouton wrote Ball Four, and most players objected to what he wrote, and Pete Rose yelled, "Fuck you, Shakespeare!" at him from across the field -- not face-to-face, as Rose is a coward at heart. Or, or, if (as did not happen, as far as I know) a Red Sock had yelled at Reggie Jackson in 1977, "Hey, Straw, stirred any drinks lately?"
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At any rate, yesterday was a Nasty Nestor day. Nestor Cortes allowed 3 runs and 6 hits in 5 innings, but also struck out 7 with no walks. He was going to need run support.
He got it, starting in the bottom of the 2nd. Giancarlo Stanton led off with a single, Donaldson grounded out, Gleyber Torres singled, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled Stanton home. Kyle Higashioki grounded out to move the runners over, Aaron Hicks drew a walk, and DJ LeMahieu hit a grand slam home run to make it 5-0 Yankees.
The South Siders got a 3-run homer in the top of the 3rd, but you know what I say about leadoff walks. Anthony Rizzo led off the bottom of the 3rd, Stanton singled him over to 3rd, and Donaldson grounded to short, which got Rizzo home. 6-3 Yankees.
Michael King replaced Cortes in the 6th inning, and he did not have good stuff, allowing 3 doubles that resulted in 2 runs. But in the bottom of the 6th, the Yankees again triggered my favorite Cliché Alert. Higashioka drew a leadoff walk, Hicks grounded out, LeMahieu walked, Aaron Judge singled, and Rizzo hit a sacrifice fly to score Higgy.
That would produced the final score, as the Yankee bullpen allowed the Pale Hose only 2 baserunners, both singles, from that point onward: Yankees 7, White Sox 5. WP: Cortes (3-1). SV: Clay Holmes (4 -- again, Aaron Boone trusted Holmes with a save situation rather than Aroldis Chapman). LP: Dallas Keuchel (2-4).
The series concludes with a doubleheader today. Hopefully, without incident. The opener is set for 3:05 PM, with Jameson Taillon starting against Johnny Cueto. The nightcap, which had already been set as the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game, is listed as a 7:08 start. Luis Severino starts against Michael Kopech.
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