Tonight one of the most iconic baseball games of the last decades was played in the cornfields of Iowa. The New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox played a game 30 years in the making in Dyersville, Iowa, on the movie site of the original Field of Dreams. It was a dream come true for a woman named Denise Stillman, who fought for years to get this game played on her land. Unfortunately, she passed away from cancer in 2018. But tonight, the movie’s star Kevin Costner and Stillman’s husband and two children are in the stands to watch her dream come true.
Tonight Andrew Heaney 7-8 and Lance Lynn for the White Sox would take the mound in a very real game that will count in the standings. The New York Yankees are six games behind the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays, and the Chicago White Sox comfortable lead the AL Central by 10.5 games. The Yankees are the underdog in this game, playing without key pitchers and minus stars in its lineup. The game ended for the Yankees with a crushing loss after the Yankees took the lead in the top of the ninth inning. White Sox 9 Yankees 8.
DJ LeMahieu took to the plate for the Yankees against former Yankee Lance Lynn and singled beyond short. Brett Gardner struck out on the seventh Lynn pitch. Aaron Judge struck out. Joey Gallo flew out to the 400′ mark in center just ahead of the corn. At the bottom, Tim Anderson hit the first pitch to Tyler Wade at short for the first out. Carlos Hernandez struck out swinging. Then, Jose Abreu homered to the corn in left. Eloy Jimenez hit a comebacker to Heaney, but the Sox took the one-run lead.
The second inning was led off by Giancarlo Stanton, who struck out looking. Luke Voit struck out. Rougie Odor flew out to left to make it a 1-2-3 inning for Lynn. At the bottom, Yoan Moncada struck out. Andrew Vaughn struck out L. Robert flew out as Heaney got his put out in order. White Sox 1 Yankees 0.
Kyle Higashioka led off the third and popped out to the infield. Tyler Wade flew out to the 320′ line right on the left-field line. LeMahieu walked. Brett Gardner singled to left field. With the first chance for the Yankee’s to go ahead in the game, Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer into the corn beyond right field. Gallo struck out, but the Yankees took the lead in the game. At the bottom, Adam Engel walked. Seby Zavala struck out. Anderson doubled to left, bringing in Engel. Hernandez went down swinging. Abreu walked. Jimenez hit his own three-run shot into the corn in right. Moncada flew out to Judge in right. Chicago White Sox 5 New York Yankees 3.
Stanton led off the fourth inning by getting a broken-bat out to short. Voit flew out to the right-center. Odor ground out to right to end the half. Vaughn led off the bottom by flying out to Judge in right. Robert got a one-out double to right-center. Engel ground out to second as Robert advanced to third base. Zavala lined one into the rows of corn for the four-run lead for the White Sox. Anderson flew out to right. White Sox 7 Yankees 3.
Kyle Higashioka led off the top of the fifth inning by striking out. Wade struck out swinging. LeMahieu flew out to right to end the half. At the bottom, Hernandez ground out to third with Heaney still on the mound for the Yankees. Abreu walked. Jimenez got a long flyout to Gardner in left. Moncada ground out to second. Sox 7 Yankees 3.
Brett Gardner led off the sixth inning with his own corn shot into the right-field corn drawing the Yankees a run closer. Judge singled to short as he avoided the tag at first. Gallo walked. Stanton faced the new Sox pitcher Michael Kopech and ground out, but the runners advanced on the play. Voit struck out. Odor struck to blow a big opportunity for the Yankees. At the bottom, Vaughn walked against new Yankee pitcher Wandy Peralta. Robert hit into the force out. Engel ground out to first. Zavala struck out to end the inning. White Sox 7 Yankees 4.
The seventh inning was led off by Higashioka, who ground out to third. Wade had a perfectly executed bunt single. He then stole second base. LeMahieu walked. Gardner faced new pitcher Aaron Bummer and hit into a force play for the second out. Judge who had been on base twice walked to load the bases for the Yankees. Gallo hit into another force out as the Yankees blew another opportunity. At the bottom, Anderson ground out. Hernandez struck out. Abreu struck out as Peralta had a 1-2-3 inning. White Sox 7 New York Yankees 4.
The eighth inning was led off by Stanton, who faced the ex-Red Sox Kimbrel ground out. Voit walked. Voit went to second on a wild pitch. Odor struck out. Higashioka struck out. Jimenez led off the bottom by singling to right against new Yankee pitcher Joey Rodriguez. Moncada hit into a double play. Vaughn singled to left. Robert struck out to end the inning. White Sox 7 Yankees 4.
With last licks on the line for the Yankees, they face the White Sox closer Liam Hendriks. Wade led off by hitting the first pitch for a single. LeMahieu struck out. Gardner struck out. Aaron Judge, with one out, left for the Yankees and one on, hit his second home run of the game, bringing the Yankees within one. Joey Gallo walked. Giancarlo Stanton homered for his 18th of the year, and just like that the game, the New York Yankees took the lead. Luke Voit struck out, but the Yankees took the one-run lead in the game.
At the bottom of the ninth, Zack Britton was charged with holding the White Sox down and getting the win for the Yankees. Danny Mendick led off and ground out to second. Zavala walked. Anderson hit a homer crushing the Yankees for a walk-off loss.
The final score was the Chicago White Sox 9, the New York Yankees 8. The winning pitcher was Liam Hendriks, and the loser, Zack Britton.