Judge and Stanton homer to back effective Cortes as streaking Yankees top White Sox 4

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton homered, Nestor Cortes won for the first time in 5 1/2 weeks and the New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory.

Alex Verdugo and Stanton hit consecutive RBI doubles off starter Mike Clevinger (0-2) in the fourth inning to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead. New York (31-15) equaled its longest winning streak this season and has won 11 of 13 overall, moving 16 games above .500 for the first time since finishing 99-63 in 2022.

“Once we got on top, we stayed on top,” Stanton said.

Caleb Ferguson pitched out of an eighth-inning jam to preserve a two-run lead. Clay Holmes entered to his new Yankee Stadium light show — a ballpark feature his teammates pushed for, Judge said — and worked a hitless ninth for his AL-best 13th save. The closer has not allowed an earned run in 19 appearances this year.