NEW YORK – Andrew Benintendi once played for the Yankees and that came during the second half of the 2022 season. Four years later, as a member of the White Sox, he came back to haunt them in a 5-1 victory on Thursday night.
Benintendi didn’t start the game. But with the score tied at 1 in the eighth inning, the White Sox had the bases loaded with one out when Yankees manager Aaron Boone decided to take left-hander Tim Hill out of the game in favor of Camilo Doval. In came Benintendi as a pinch-hitter for Randal Grichuk, another former Yankee. Benintendi swung at the first pitch and hit a grand slam to make it a four-run game. It was the first pinch-hit slam by a White Sox hitter since Orlando Hudson did the trick on Sept. 29, 2012 against the Rays.
Right-hander Sean Burke didn’t start the game, but he pitched the bulk behind opener Bryan Hudson. Burke struck out eight across 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits.