CHICAGO — Gavin Sheets hit a career-high four games and scored four runs, Korey Lee and Brooks Baldwin hit home runs and the Chicago White Sox gave interim manager Grady Sizemore his first win by crushing the New York Yankees 12-2 on Monday night after losing 24 of 25 games.
The White Sox posted season-highs in runs and 18 hits after losing their first two games under Sizemore, who took over Thursday after the White Sox fired Pedro Grifol. They had lost three straight games since the win over Oakland, ending an American League record 21-game losing streak.
The White Sox had started the day with the worst record in MLB, the Yankees with part of the best record. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first time since September 27, 1934, that a team with the worst record in MLB has defeated the team with the best record in July or later by more than 10 runs. The winning team that day was the White Sox, who defeated the Detroit Tigers 11-0. These are the only two times in the last 100 years that this has happened.
“It was unbelievable, so much fun,” Sizemore said in his postgame media presence. “These last few games, I’m just so proud of these guys, the way they’ve played. The energy, everything, I know I keep saying the same thing. But I just couldn’t be happier for the guys.”
Lee hit a two-run fourth against Yankees starter Luis Gil. Baldwin capped a six-run seventh with a three-run drive against Enyel De Los Santos that made it 11-2.
Sheets hit two-run RBI doubles in the first inning, against Tim Hill in the fifth and against De Los Santos in the seventh. He also scored in the inning on a single by Dominic Fletcher and scored a run on a single in the eighth inning.
Andrew Vaughn had four hits and scored twice to help the White Sox defeat a team that had the best record in baseball to begin with, the Baltimore Orioles.
“I’m glad they just showed up,” Sizemore said. “They come to play, they play hard and they battle. It was just a great team effort.”
New York’s Aaron Judge hit a run on a double in the first inning against rookie Ky Bush. He was just a few feet away from his 300th home run and a grand slam when he hit a fly into the warning track in the second inning.
Bush allowed two runs and six hits in 4⅔ innings in his second major league appearance. The 24-year-old left-hander walked seven and threw 97 pitches after losing in his debut in Oakland last week.
Touki Toussaint (1-2) took the win as a substitute and recorded four outs.
Gil (12-6) threw 98 pitches in four innings, allowing four runs and seven hits. The 26-year-old right-hander managed two walks.
“Every time you lose, it’s a missed opportunity,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “We play for a lot every day, so it’s annoying when we lose. It’s really good and exciting when you win, but either way, that’s the end.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
