NEW YORK — Johnny Cueto pitched six more scoreless innings, AJ Pollock hit a tiebreaking home run off Aroldis Chapman in the ninth and the Chicago White Sox beat the New York Yankees 3-1 on a calm Sunday in the first game of a doubleheader.
There didn’t appear to be any carryover of the anger and tension at Yankee Stadium from the previous afternoon. On Saturday, the benches cleared and Yankees slugger Josh Donaldson, who is white, acknowledged calling Chicago star Tim Anderson, who is Black, “Jackie” – a reference to pioneering baseball icon Jackie Robinson that elicited criticism from both managers.
Anderson didn’t play in the opener. Manager Tony La Russa said he wanted the star shortstop to play only one game.
Pollock hit a leadoff homer against Chapman (0-2), who also gave up an RBI double to Adam Engel. Chapman has given up at least one run in each of his last five appearances.
Afterward, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Chapman – who was visited at the mound by Boone and a trainer after a walked to Andrew Vaughn set up Engel’s hit – has been dealing with an Achilles issue.
“He was getting some treatment on his Achilles,” Boone said. “I just felt like when he was moving around, he wasn’t moving around great out there. He wanted the ball.”
Yasmani Grandal, whose exchange of words with Donaldson on Saturday led to the benches emptying, hit an RBI single in the fourth.
Liam Hendriks, who used an expletive earlier Sunday to describe how he didn’t believe Donaldson’s explanation that he made the “Jackie” reference as part of an inside joke with Anderson, struck out two in a perfect ninth to preserve the win for Kendall Graveman (1-1).
Hendriks pumped his fist and yelled loud enough to be heard three levels away after whiffing Jose Trevino for the final out.
“We were after that game – guys were after it,” La Russa said. “Got dramatic at the end. Hard-earned.”
Aaron Judge briefly tied the game for the Yankees by homering off…