Curtis Mead took a step back to field Aaron Judge’s grounder to third in the fifth inning of Thursday’s game at Rate Field.
The Chicago White Sox third baseman made a one-hop throw to first. The ball and Judge arrived near the bag at the same time. First baseman Miguel Vargas attempted to receive the throw, but his glove hand bent awkwardly during a collision with Judge’s left thigh.
Vargas immediately fell to the ground in pain. He exited with a bruised left wrist in the 10-4 to the Yankees in front of 18,187.
“In the moment, I was very scared,” Vargas said. “It wasn’t feeling right in the moment. It felt a little better when I got past that moment. Hopefully tomorrow it will still feel better.”
The Sox announced Vargas would undergo further testing Friday.
“I feel it more in the top of my hand,” Vargas said. “It’s a little bit sore. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get a better answer.”
Vargas provided a spark earlier in the game, hitting the first grand slam of his career in the second inning to tie the score at 4.
The Yankees reclaimed the lead during the unfortunate play in the fifth as Ben Rice scored from first after the ball skipped away.
“It’s a tough play,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “Curtis is on his heels there, does a good job to get the ball across the diamond and then just one of those plays where Vargas, the ball and Judge all hit at the same time.”
Mead was charged with an error. Judge moved to second on the sequence and later scored on a sacrifice fly.
“I wasn’t expecting to get that contact with him,” Vargas said. “I was trying to make the out, no matter what. It’s baseball, I guess.”
Photos: Chicago White Sox lose 10-4 to New York Yankees at Rate Field
The Sox already were missing some key offensive players ahead of Thursday’s game. They placed Luis Robert Jr. on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a left hamstring strain. And shortstop Colson Montgomery missed a second consecutive game while dealing with left side soreness.
“It’s just such a high and a low (for Vargas),” starter Davis Martin said. “He goes out there and hits the grand slam to get us right back in the game. The energy’s there, everybody’s kind of rocking and rolling, pitching staff kind of catches a little bit of a stride, and then, boom, it just kind of takes the wind out of your sails.
“To have Luis go down two days prior and Colson dealing with his stuff, it all kind of adds up.”
Vargas is slashing .234/.315/.404 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 121 games.
“He’s one of our main guys that really sets the tone for the group,” Venable said. “He’s a performer. He goes out there and competes and plays hard and along the lines of these other guys that are contributors out there, we’re going to miss having him out there and hopefully it’s not for too long.”
It was a tough night all around for the Sox. They made three errors and surrendered three home runs.
Cody Bellinger hit a two-run blast against Martin in the first inning. Jazz Chisholm Jr. led off the second with a home run.
“First you’ve got to give credit to that lineup,” said Martin, who allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. “You know, don’t chase much, make you get in the zone and then do damage in the zone. So happy with the way I competed. Not happy with the way I walked guys, long counts, didn’t go deep in the game, really just didn’t do my job overall. But some positives to take away, just got to learn and get better.”
Trent Grisham hit a two-run home run against reliever Cam Booser during a three-run eighth inning. The Sox allowed 12 hits while falling to 48-86, matching their low point of the season at 38 games under .500.
“I thought Davis was all right there,” Venable said. “Obviously the walk to Judge (with two outs in the first) followed by an 0-2 homer (by Bellinger) was a tough way to end what started as a good inning (with two strikeouts).
“I think the story really was defense on both sides. You just saw how the inability to turn some of those balls in play into outs led to runs on both sides. … As a group just got to be better.”