After six innings Wednesday, no one could’ve thought the Yankees and White Sox would play six more.
But they did, and Sox catcher Edgar Quero ended the bonkers game with a single in the 12th for an improbable 6-5 victory, the team’s eighth walk-off win this season.
“The opportunity to get one here, the way that they did it, just to continue to battle,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “We’ve seen it, we’ve talked about it before. [It] was awesome.”
The Yankees jumped on Sox starter Davis Martin for four runs in the first, but he kept them in check for the next five innings. Meanwhile, the Sox couldn’t touch fireballer Cam Schlittler, who retired the first 11 batters before Miguel Vargas singled. Then he retired the next seven.
The game began to turn in the seventh when Schlittler was pulled after a run-scoring double by Andrew Benintendi. In the eighth, Yankees manager Aaron Boone turned to righty Paul Blackburn with a runner on second. Sam Antonacci greeted him with a two-run homer, and Munetaka Murakami followed with a solo shot to tie it.
After the Yankees took the lead in the 11th, they gifted the Sox a run in the bottom half. With automatic runner Murakami on third, catcher Ali Sanchez needlessly tried to pick him off and ended up throwing the ball down the left-field line.
“I was surprised they [tried to] pick me off,” Murakami said. “I was a little bit off the bag, obviously, but I was hearing [third-base coach Justin Jirschele] clearly, so I was able to get back in time.”
The Yankees loaded the bases in the 12th against Jordan Hicks but came away empty. Hicks struck out Ben Rice swinging and induced Sanchez to ground out — but not without drama.
“Not the way I drew it up, but it worked out,” Hicks said. “I felt like today was the hardest I’ve thrown all season; 0-2 to 3-2, though, on the last batter, bases loaded, had to throw a few strikes there.”
In the bottom half, Chase Meidroth sacrificed automatic runner Tristan Peters to third, and Quero, who entered the game in the eighth with a .181 batting average, brought him home.
“Good feelings, especially right now,” he said. “[It’s been a] tough year for me.”
‘We need more wand’
The White Sox released a video on social media in which an unsuspecting Mike Vasil was summoned to Venable’s office, where general manager Chris explained that Vasil’s wand had caught the attention of the commissioner’s office and that the team needed to “change something up.” He asked for suggestions from Vasil, who looked concerned.
Then Getz called in third-base coach Justin Jirschele, who explained the “problem” to Vasil.
“We need more wand,” said Jirschele, who handed Vasil a Harry Potter wand. “How does 20,000 sound for our fans? Congratulations on your first promotion.”
“You realize you really got me?” Vasil said. “I was like, what do I do now? I don’t have an identity.”
On Sept. 4, the first 20,000 fans attending the game against the Twins will receive wands. Asked what Rate Field will look like that night, Venable said, “I don’t know, but that’s a lot of magic.”
Notes
Venable was asked about Noah Schultz’s status after the rookie lefty lasted only 3 ⅓ innings Monday against the Yankees. He’s on track to pitch Friday against the Rays.
“We’ll announce the next series rotation here in the next day or two,” Venable said. “The plan is for Noah to be on this team and in the rotation as we’re evaluating the next cycle.”
• NBC Sports flexed the Sox’ game Sept. 6 against the Twins to “Sunday Night Baseball.” The game will air on NBC Sports Network and Peacock. First pitch is scheduled for 5:20 p.m.
It will be the Sox’ first “SNB” game at Rate Field since Aug. 9, 2020 (vs. Guardians), and their first with fans in the ballpark since July 29, 2008 (vs. Cubs).