CHICAGO — The hits — and wins — just keep coming for the Yankees.
The first-place Yankees extended their winning streak to five games by beating the White Sox, 10-4, on Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, with just about everything clicking.
A night after scoring a season-high 15 runs, the Yankees knocked around White Sox pitching again for double-digit runs. They also hit four homers for a second straight game, with Aaron Judge hitting his 12th of him, which leads the majors, and Giancarlo Stanton adding his 10th.
While homers are down throughout the game, the Yankees’ sluggers are in midseason form.
“They could throw a softball up there and they’d probably still hit it out,” said Josh Donaldson, who also may be warming up. “Not many parks can contain them. But it’s the entire lineup that’s contributing.”
To Donaldson’s point, after Stanton’s first inning blast, it was the bottom of the order that sparked a second-inning rally.
Aaron Hicks, bumped to ninth in the order, delivered his first extra-base hit since April 12 with an RBI double in the second. In the fifth inning, Joey Gallo homered again.
It was all part of the Yankees’ 17th win in their last 19 games, which kept them 4 ¹/₂ games up on Tampa Bay in the AL East, after the Rays knocked off the Blue Jays, who have lost five in a row.
Gerrit Cole, who had turned his season around by allowing just one run in his previous 19 innings, was terrific for the first five innings — allowing a run in the fourth in odd fashion. With runners on the corners and two out, Cole faked a pickoff throw to first, resulting in a balk that allowed Luis Robert to score from third.
Cole was hurt by Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s second misplay of the game in the sixth. It came on what looked like a routine grounder by Robert. When Kiner-Falefa made a late throw to first, the play was ruled a hit. Gavin Sheets followed with a homer to right to cut the Yankees’ lead to 7-3.
There was some excitement at the bottom of the first after the White Sox loaded the bases.
Tim Anderson led off with a double and Jose Abreu drew a one-out walk. Kiner-Falefa then flubbed what should have been an inning-ending double play grounder from Robert to load the bases.
Cole struck out Sheets swinging for the second out. Jose Trevino threw to third in an attempt to pick off Anderson, and Donaldson fell on the runner.
Anderson, apparently believing Donaldson had landed on him intentionally, shoved the third baseman off him and the two jawed at each other while the dugouts and bullpens started to empty.
Cooler heads prevailed, although Anderson and Donaldson continued their back and forth before Cole fanned AJ Pollock to escape the threat in the 28-pitch inning.
“It was a baseball play,” Donaldson said. “I was going to make the tag. I leaned on him a little bit — not intentionally — and he probably didn’t like that. It was two guys competing, trying to make a play.”
The Yankees scored three more runs off right-hander Vince Velasquez in the second inning, from some unlikely sources.
Kiner-Falefa, hitless in his previous 16 at-bats, reached on an infield hit with one out and moved to third on Trevino’s hit-and-run single to left.
Hicks broke his 0-for-19 skid with an RBI double to right and DJ LeMahieu’s groundout to shortstop drove in another run before Donaldson continued the onslaught with a double to left, driving in Hicks to make it 5-0.
In the fourth, Judge hit his eighth homer in his last 13 games for a 6-0 lead.
“I like them going up there right now,” manager Aaron Boone said of Judge and Stanton. “They’re both in a really good place now.”
And so are the Yankees.
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