NEW YORK — Tim Anderson had the last word.
A day after Josh Donaldson called the White Sox shortstop “Jackie,” setting off a benches clearing incident in the Bronx, Anderson punched a pitch from Yankees reliever Miguel Castro over the right field wall for a three-run homer, breaking open a tight game with the finishing blow in a 5-0 White Sox victory Sunday night.
With Michael Kopech taking a perfect game into the sixth inning and pitching seven scoreless innings in Game 2 after Johnny Cueto pitched six scoreless innings in Game 1, the Sox claimed a doubleheader sweep against baseball’s best team.
On a hot afternoon at Yankee Stadium that required Cueto to chug two bottles of Gatorade on the mound during the sixth inning and receive intravenous fluids after Game 1, AJ Pollock hit a tiebreaking homer against Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning to break a 1-all tie and Adam Engel doubled in an insurance run.
Liam Hendriks’ perfect ninth with two strikeouts positioned the Sox for a sweep of the doubleheader against the team with the best record in baseball.
A day after Donaldson offended Anderson, Cueto quieted the Yankees bats in typical Cueto fashion.
“I had good command of all my pitches, they had very good movement and was able to locate them up and down in the zone,” Cueto said through translator Billy Russo. “That was the key to keeping the Yankees off-balance.”
“Like an artist,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said of Cueto.
Anderson was rested in the first game, and, while booed before every at-bat in Game 2, produced three hits raising his average to .359.
It had been a frustrating exhibition of futility with runners on base for the Sox, who were 1-or-11 with runners in scoring position through seven innings, most of it against Yankees starter Luis Severino. But Andrew Vaughn finally broke through with an RBI single in the eighth, followed by another from catcher Reese McGuire before Anderson connected.
The sweep, capping a 5-3 road trip that started in Kansas City and included a 7-5 loss Saturday, improved the Sox to 21-20. The Yankees are 29-12.
Donaldson, 0-for-4 but with hard contact three times in Game 1, did not play in Game 2.
