Bronx, NY— The New York Yankees continued to thrive despite the absence of Aaron Judge, pounding out 16 hits and launching four home runs in a commanding 12-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night before a crowd of 36,723 at Yankee Stadium.
Rookie Spencer Jones provided an early spark, while Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt delivered key long balls as the Bronx Bombers improved to 8-4 since Judge was sidelined indefinitely with a stress fracture in his right rib.
The White Sox struck first when Andrew Benintendi connected for a solo home run in the opening inning against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. However, Jones quickly erased the deficit in the second inning, crushing a towering shot into the second deck in right field for his second career major league home run and first at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees then broke the game open in the third and fourth innings.
Jones contributed again during a four-run third inning by drawing a bases-loaded walk after Chicago starter Davis Martin unsuccessfully challenged a ball-strike call. Cody Bellinger followed with a clutch two-run single that pushed the Bombers in front for good.
The fourth inning turned into a nightmare for Chisox. Rice launched his 20th home run of the season, a two-run blast to right field that extended the lead to 7-1. Moments later, Goldschmidt connected on a two-run blast of his own, sending a fastball into the left-field seats and ending Martin’s night on the bump.
Rice reached the 20-homer mark for the second consecutive season after hitting 26 home runs in 2025. Goldschmidt continued his recent surge, collecting his second home run in three games and matching his entire home run total from last season.
Cole settled in after Benintendi’s early homer and delivered a strong outing for New York. The veteran right-hander allowed just three hits and two runs while striking out six Chicago hitters over six innings. He improved to 2-1 on the season after throwing 90 pitches.
The Bombers kept adding on throughout the night. Ryan McMahon drove in a run with a single, while J.C. Escarra reached base three times and scored after a throwing error by reliever Chris Murphy helped extend the lead to 11-1.
José Caballero added the Yankees’ final home run in the ninth inning, taking advantage of a 41-mph curveball thrown by position player Luisangel Acuña, who was called upon to finish the game for Chicago.
Bellinger finished with three hits and multiple RBIs, while New York recorded double-digit runs for the eighth time this season.
For the White Sox, Benintendi’s first-inning homer was one of the few bright spots. Martin endured one of the roughest starts of his career, allowing nine runs on eight hits over 3 1/3 innings. The right-hander surrendered three home runs after giving up just three total over his first 13 starts of the season.
Chicago dropped to 5-4 during a demanding stretch of games against playoff-caliber opponents including Philadelphia, Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York.
The series continues Wednesday night with left-hander Anthony Kay scheduled to start for Chicago against Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón.
