NEW YORK — Andruw Jones came out
swinging after a little ump bump. A.J. Pierzynski hit hard, too, and
that helped the Chicago White Sox slow down the New York Yankees.
Jones launched two more home runs off a
shaky Javier Vazquez, Pierzynski boomed a go-ahead double in the
seventh inning and the White Sox seesawed past the Yankees 7-6 Saturday.
"Always nice," Chicago manager Ozzie
Guillen said. "You know when you come to this ballpark with that
ballclub, you better fight."
The Yankees' three-game winning streak
ended, and they also lost center fielder Curtis Granderson. He hurt his
left groin while dashing on a hit-and-run single, badly hobbled into
third and will now go on the 15-day disabled list with a moderate
strain. There was no timetable for his return.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi's initial
thought when he saw the injury unfold: "He's out for a while."
Jones and Vazquez both got off to
stumbling starts. The White Sox slugger wound up enjoying the sunny
afternoon, Vazquez got booed off the mound.
Jones was standing in the on-deck
circle in the first inning when Gordon Beckham lifted a foul pop toward
the seats. Yankees catcher Jorge Posada tossed his mask aside and it hit
plate umpire Mark Wegner in the head. Wegner then stumbled a couple of
steps and plowed into Jones, knocking him off-balance. All were OK, and
the ball landed foul.
"I was watching the ball and all of a
sudden he's bumping into me. He said, 'I got smoked in the head,'" Jones
said.
Wegner was able to kid about it after
the game.
"No suspension," he said, smiling. "I
instigated it."
Scratched from the starting lineup
Friday night because of back spasms, Jones recovered nicely. He hit a
solo home run moments later, and did it again in the third. That gave
Jones seven career homers off Vazquez, his top victim.
"I think when you face a pitcher so
many times, you get comfortable. He's never made me uncomfortable,"
Jones said.
Jones has 40 career multihomer games,
including three this season. He has eight home runs this year and 396
overall, matching Joe Carter for 49th on the career list.
Vazquez kept struggling, a year after
he drew Cy Young Award consideration for a sharp season in Atlanta. He
began this game with a 9.00 ERA, and more than maintained that
run-per-inning pace. He gave up single runs in each of the first three
innings and was yanked shortly after Mark Kotsay's two-run homer in the
fourth.
"It's no fun," Vazquez said. "I'm
working on everything — mechanics, mental part of the game."
Asked whether Vazquez would make his
next start, Girardi said he was instead thinking about Granderson's
injury and a taxed bullpen.
"Anyone can turn it around," Girardi
said. "You always have the ability to rewrite the script."
Kotsay's homer off Vazquez made it
5-1. Unbeaten White Sox starter John Danks left after five innings, and
Nick Swisher's homer capped a four-run comeback in the sixth that put
the Yankees ahead 6-5.
The White Sox rallied in the seventh.
Paul Konerko doubled with one out and Carlos Quentin drew an
intentional walk from David Robertson (0-2) with two outs. Damaso Marte
relieved and Pierzynski met him with a double to deep left-center.
Scott Linebrink (1-0) won despite
allowing Swisher's two-run homer. Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth for his
fifth save.
Granderson got a hand when he left in
the sixth. He was running from first when Brett Gardner singled up the
middle, but hurt himself rounding second and limped most of the way to
third.
Granderson went to a hospital and an
MRI exam revealed a Grade II strain. The Yankees said he would go on the
DL and right-handed reliever Mark Melancon would be recalled from
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he's 3-0 with three saves and a
1.76 ERA.
Notes
Vazquez was stopped by the
umpires when he came out to pitch the third inning. They huddled with
Girardi, and Vazquez was forced to change his glove because its two-tone
coloring was against Major League Baseball rules. In spring training,
3B umpire Jerry Meals was asked by Florida minor league pitcher Taylor
Tankersley — who uses the same glove as Vazquez — whether the model was
OK. Meals took a picture of the Wilson glove and sent it to MLB
officials, who ruled it was illegal. Vazquez said he's used the same
glove for three or four years. "I was surprised we weren't informed of
that," Girardi said. There are some two-tone gloves that pitchers are
allowed to use — it depends on whether they're deemed a distraction to
hitters.