CHICAGO — Juan Soto had his first career three-homer game, Nestor Cortes tossed seven shutout innings and the New York Yankees held off the Chicago White Sox 4-1 on Tuesday night to take sole possession of the American League East lead.
Soto tagged starter Jonathan Cannon (2-6) for a two-run shot to left field in the third inning and went the other way again on a leadoff homer in the fifth. The four-time All-Star added his 33rd of the season in the seventh off left-handed reliever Fraser Ellard, pulling a drive to right that made it 4-0.
“I’ve been working on just trying to be accurate to the ball,” Soto said in his postgame, on-field interview on the YES Network. “Try to make contact with the ball, put the barrel on the ball, and forget about what is going to happen.”
With a chance to match the major league record of four home runs in a game, Soto walked in the ninth after swinging and missing at a 3-0 pitch that was a little out of the strike zone.
“All three of them were pretty impressive,” New York manager Aaron Boone said of the homers. “In watching Juan, I feel like I’m watching one of the best seasons I’ve ever seen.”
Cortes (6-10), who gave up nine hits and six earned runs in a short outing against the Angels five days earlier, scattered three hits and equaled his season best with nine strikeouts.
“It was great,” Boone said of his starter’s performance. “Loved the way he threw the ball.”
Luis Robert Jr. spoiled New York’s shutout bid with an eighth-inning RBI single off Mark Leiter Jr. Jake Cousins, the last of four relievers, got three outs — two with the bases loaded — for his first career save.
Powered by Soto, the Yankees, who lost to the White Sox 12-2 in the series opener, woke back up and moved a half-game in front of second-place Baltimore, which lost to the Washington Nationals.
“That is one tough at-bat, every single day,” Boone said of opponents preparing for Soto.
Cannon gave up five hits and walked three while striking out four in 4⅔ innings. The White Sox had five hits one night after rolling up 18 in a 12-2 victory. They’ve dropped 31 of their past 36 games.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and two walks to remain at 299 career home runs.
But the night clearly belonged to Soto.
“It’s just impressive. He waited ’til he got a pitch in each at-bat, and did some damage on it,” said Judge, who later called Soto “the greatest hitter in the game.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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