The White Sox kicked off a three-game series at home against the New York Yankees and with this romp tonight, Chicago knocked the Bronx Bombers out of first place in the AL East. The Baltimore Orioles now have sole possession of first, and have the best record in the majors. Meanwhile, the Sox are still the worst of 30 teams, but they did break their three-game losing streak and had a season-high 18 hits.

Who had the South Siders taking a 2-1 lead after the first inning on their bingo card? Probably no one, but that’s the game of baseball for you. That’s why they play the games, friends.

Luis Gil, one of the best starters for the Yankees this year with a 12-5 record and 3.05 ERA, got into a heap of trouble in the first. He let the worst offense in baseball score two tallies and work him for 34 pitches, including two walks, two doubles, and a single.

With one out in the bottom of the first, Andrew Benintendi continued his hot streak with an RBI double, driving in Nicky Lopez, who led off with a free pass.

After Andrew Vaughn grounded out, Gavin Sheets smacked his two-bagger, allowing Benny to come home.

The Sox added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth with a second burst of offense. Korey Lee crushed an oppo taco to left field, and Fletcher followed with a double to right. Then, with two outs, Lopez drove him in, giving the South Siders a 4-1 advantage.

Old friend Tim Hill came on to relieve Gil in the fifth, and the Sox welcomed him back by hammering the ball. Two back-to-back singles by Benny and Vaughn and another RBI double by Sheets tacked on one more run, but the buck stopped there. Lee grounded out, and Vaughn was thrown out at the plate when Fletcher hit into a fielder’s choice.

The Good Guys kept the hit parade going, with a six-spot in the bottom of the seventh. Another RBI double for Sheets, RBI singles for Fletcher and Corey Julks, and a three-run dinger by rookie Brooks Baldwin. Who are these guys, and how embarrassing for the Yankees? YIKES!

AND they added one more for good measure in the eighth on another RBI hit by Sheets. The dude had the game of his life tonight, going 4-for-5 with four RBIs. Luis Robert Jr. who?

It’s essential to give some credit where credit is due on defense since it’s rare to see. Sheets made an outstanding play on a Juan Soto ground out at first, which likely saved one, if not two, runs in the top of the fourth.

They did make two errors AND were thrown out at the plate by a mile, twice, too. You can never truly stray too far from who you are.

On the pitching side, control was an issue from the get-go for Sox starter Ky Bush, as he walked the yard in his second career start. Via some Houdini wizardry, the rookie avoided the wrath of the Yankees’ offense sans a run in the first and fifth. His night ended after giving up two runs on six hits with seven walks and two strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.

For once, the bullpen didn’t give up a single run. Yes, go ahead and read that sentence again, just for fun. Touki Toussaint, Justin Anderson, Dominic Leone, and Steven Wilson combined for 4 1/3 innings of three-hit ball. Grady Sizemore magic? Maybe … just maybe.

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