Yankees escape another shaky ninth in win over White Sox

CHICAGO — Nestor Cortes Jr. did his job for six innings.

That wasn’t a surprise. The 36th-round pick of the Yankees in 2013, whom they twice lost in the Rule 5 draft since then, has done that all season, whether starting or relieving.

The Yankees’ bullpen, on the other hand, lately has been a baseball version of Russian roulette for Aaron Boone. So after Cortes departed with a two-run lead, the final nine outs were anything but a shoo-in Sunday.

Stephen Ridings and Jonathan Loaisiga appeared as if they might take the Yankees home with a scoreless inning each, and after Luke Voit hit a two-run homer in the ninth, the afternoon looked as if it would lack the drama that was so much a part of the series’ first two games.

But called on to protect a four-run lead in the ninth, Lucas Luetge wasn’t sharp, and plenty of theater ensued before the Yankees could seal their 5-3 win over the White Sox in front of a sellout crowd of 37,696 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

A walk, a single and Zack Collins’ one-out RBI double to right put runners on second and third. That brought up Tim Anderson as the tying run, and Boone called for Wandy Peralta.

Anderson, whose two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth won Thursday’s "Field of Dreams" game in Dyersville, Iowa, beat out an infield single to cut the Yankees’ lead to two runs. Suddenly the winning run was at the plate — and just as suddenly, Cesar Hernandez grounded into a game-ending 4-3 double play on the first pitch.

"Big series," Cortes said. "Coming into this, we knew where we were at and what we needed to do. I think we took care of that."

The Yankees (65-52) went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position and stranded 14 but won for the 24th time in the last 35 games. They are 2 1⁄2 games behind the Athletics and Red Sox, who are in a virtual tie for the wild-card lead, and 5 1⁄2 games behind the AL East-leading Rays.

The Yankees, who have won 10 of their last 11 completed series, finished 5-1 this season against the AL Central-leading White Sox (68-50).

"Exhale here for a minute," Boone said. "[Then] going home to start a really important homestand."

It’s a stretch of eight games that begins with Monday night’s makeup game against the Angels and Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Red Sox.

Cortes, with his assortment of curveballs, sliders, changeups and high-80s fastballs coming at the plate from all kinds of arm angles and deliveries designed to throw off batters, flummoxed the White Sox. He earned his first victory of the season and lowered his season ERA to 2.55, allowing only Andrew Vaughn’s solo homer with one out in the sixth and striking out seven.

"He’s unbelievable," said Voit, who went 3-for-5. "You just don’t see guys like that anymore. I mean, look at what we just faced with Chicago, everyone in their bullpen throwing 100 and all their starters have pretty good stuff . . . He’s shimmying, he’s trying to screw with your timing and everything. He’s figured it out, and he’s disgusting."

After Rougned Odor hit a two-run homer and Brett Gardner added an RBI double in a three-run second, Vaughn’s homer cut the Yankees’ lead to 3-1.

In the seventh, Ridings issued a four-pitch walk but struck out pinch hitter Collins and got Anderson to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.

After Ridings walked Hernandez to start the eighth, Loaisiga came on and retired three straight. Voit’s homer made it 5-1 in the ninth.

"I’ve really felt like with this group there’s an underlying confidence that has existed even in our worst of days this year," Boone said. "Maybe at times, maybe not rightly so. But I do believe they always believed we were going to turn this around."

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.