The New York Yankees are looking to finish off a four-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. After an extra-inning victory on Saturday pushed the winning streak to seven, the Bombers were close to breaking it open on Sunday. Giancarlo Stanton hit a long fly ball that could have given the Yankees a 4-1 lead, but White Sox outfielder Mike Tauchman had different ideas.
Stanton hit a moon shot to right field, which Tauchman timed perfectly. He leaped to the top of the right-field wall and pulled back Stanton’s home-run bid. The third-inning robbery kept the Yankees’ lead at 2-1, while a homer for Stanton would have made it 4-1.
Tauchman was on the Yankees from 2019 until the middle of the 2021 season. He played 141 games for the Bombers across all three outfield positions, posting a .798 OPS. They traded him to the San Francisco Giants, and then Tauchman spent the 2022 season in the Korean league. Since that one-year stint, he spent two years with the Cubs and this one with the White Sox.
The White Sox signed Tauchman to a one-year deal this offseason after he was non-tenured by the Cubs. He has been worth the investment, with solid defense and a .782 OPS on the Southside. He is under team control for next year as well, and could be part of the turnaround for the Sox.
Stanton has been incredible for the Yankees, but was robbed of his 18th home run in his 55th game of the season. Since Aaron Judge’s elbow injury, Stanton has been thrust into the field, and his offense has not missed a beat. The Yankees would not be atop the Wild Card standings without Stanton’s contributions this season, even with this home run taken away.
The Yankees head to Houston for a three-game set against the Astros starting Tuesday.
