Yankees surrender 6-5 extra-inning defeat to White Sox after bullpen falters

The New York Yankees fell to the Chicago White Sox 6-5 in a 12-inning game on Wednesday night at Rate Field. After building a three-run lead in the eighth inning, the Yankees’ bullpen allowed the White Sox to tie the game, and later surrendered a one-run lead in the 11th and the winning run in the 12th. Ryan Yarbrough gave up a walk-off single to Edgar Quero that ended the game.

Paul Blackburn entered in the eighth and gave up back-to-back home runs, erasing a 4-1 advantage. The Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the top of the 12th but failed to score. In the bottom of the 11th, Anthony Volpe’s sacrifice fly put New York ahead 5-4, but a misplayed back-pick attempt by catcher Ali Sánchez allowed Munetaka Murakami to score and tie the game. Sánchez said, "Me and McMahon felt he was getting a little slow back to the base, just made a bad throw," and manager Aaron Boone added, "Just got to execute the throw. We're big leaguers, we’re not going to not do things."

The loss left the Yankees at 61-47, 2½ games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East lead, and extended their season record to 1-7 in extra-inning contests. The team will attempt to even the four-game series on Thursday. The Yankees entered the game without relievers David Bednar, Brent Headrick and Angel Chivilli, who were rested after recent heavy usage. Starter Cam Schlittler carried a one-hit shutout into the seventh before exiting with a 4-1 lead. Reliever Fernando Cruz gave up a leadoff double in the eighth, and Blackburn, who had a 0.92 ERA over his last 25 appearances, surrendered a two-run homer to Sam Antonacci and a three-run homer to Murakami. Blackburn said, "Honestly, I felt like I made my pitches. It sucks. You just got to keep going, keep making your pitches. Definitely let everyone down in here tonight, but come back Thursday and get a win."