Twenty-five years ago today, the Yankees were in the midst of one of their more forgettable stretches of the season. On May 9th, they owned a four game lead in the American League East. Two weeks later, it had turned into a one game deficit, thanks to losing seven in a nine game stretch. Unfortunately, after dropping two of three in Cleveland, the Yankees started their trip to the Southside of Chicago on a similarly sour note.
May 23: Yankees 2, White Sox 8 (box score)
Record: 24-17 (1 GB in AL East)
It was Roger Clemens bump day, meaning, of course, that the White Sox would eventually bump him out of this game without much effort. Things started well enough for the Rocket, when he hustled over to make a nice play covering first base to retire Chicago’s leadoff man. But the fun ended there, as José ValentÃn belted a solo homer into right field, a sight that would become all too familiar for the evening.
It remained 1-0 in favor of the Sox until the third, when the Yankees got to work against Kip Wells. Alfonso Soriano and Chuck Knoblauch led off the inning with singles, and put the Yanks in prime position with a double steal. New York’s 2-3 hitters nearly fumbled the chance when they both struck out, but Tino Martinez came through with a line drive single that scored both of ‘em and put the Yankees up 2-1.
The White Sox took the brief lead away from the Yankees in the bottom half of the inning, as well as control over this ballgame. It was a Frank Thomas single that tied things up in the third, but Chicago began to put the hurtin’ on in the fourth. After Chris Singleton and Carlos Lee both singled with one out, Brook Fordyce had what would be the decisive swing in this one when he belted a three-run homer into the seats in left. Four pitches later, Ray Durham went back-to-back with a homer of his own, putting the Sox up 6-2 and helping to put Clemens’ outing to a rough end after just four innings.
The Rocket allowed six earned runs on seven hits over the course of his relatively short outing, bumping his season ERA up to 4.26. It was his second start in three turns in which he allowed six or more earned runs, and the fifth time so far that season he allowed at least five to cross the plate.
Jason Grimsley was called upon first from the Yankees ‘pen, though it would largely become an innings eating task for their relievers. Grimsley would not enjoy a much better fate, as Paul Konerko teed off on his ninth home run of the season in the fifth, a solo shot that put Chicago up 7-2. Two innings later, Magglio Ordóñez put the finishing touches on the White Sox scoring in this one, when he matched Konerko with a solo home run of his own into left-center, also his ninth to this point in the season.
Against the Yankees, Kip Wells did all he needed to, going 6.2 innings, allowing just a pair of runs and striking out seven. A combination of two White Sox relievers, Kelly Wunsch and Sean Lowe, kept the Yankees scoreless from that point forward. They only mustered a pair of baserunners in the final three innings, and went down quietly for their third straight loss.
This had now turned into a somewhat prolonged slump for this Yankees squad, with this game being their eighth loss in ten games, as they continued to look upwards in the AL East. They had two more games coming up in Chicago, and in the bigger picture, there was plenty more grinding to do through this part of the season.