Shane Smith completed his August on a strong note.
Still, the Chicago White Sox couldn’t find a way to stop their slide.
The Sox dropped their fifth straight, losing 5-3 to the New York Yankees in 11 innings in front of 26,624 on Saturday at Rate Field.
The Yankees scored three runs (two earned) against reliever Tyler Alexander in the 11th. Cody Bellinger broke a 2-all tie, driving in automatic runner Trent Grisham with a single. Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with an RBI double. He later scored on an Anthony Volpe double.
With the loss, the Sox fell a season-low 40 games under .500 at 48-88.
“It’s a tough one, no doubt about it,” manager Will Venable said. “These guys battled and put themselves in a really good spot to win that ballgame and just came up short.
“This group all year has battled back and we’ll do the same and be ready to go tomorrow.”
The Sox suffered the defeat despite another solid outing from Smith, who allowed two runs on three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in 6 1/3 innings.
“I located the heater pretty well,” Smith said. “The curveball had some effectiveness through the later part of the outing. And the changeup kind of came back, and I was able to throw it behind in the count, ahead in the count.”
Venable described Smith’s outing as “outstanding.”
“He was in the (strike) zone — the fastball was the difference tonight,” Venable said. “Secondary stuff was fine. But really aggressive with the fastball in the zone. Did a great job tonight.”
Photos: New York Yankees 5, Chicago White Sox 3 (11 innings)
Smith had a nice bounce-back month, following up a 9.75 ERA in three July starts with a 2.63 ERA in five starts in August.
“I would say the mechanics have been pretty simple and pretty repeatable,” Smith said of the successful month. “Still working on throwing curveballs for strikes, throwing changeups for strikes. I’ve gotten away from my slider a little bit, but that’s OK. I wouldn’t say it’s too different but still getting comfortable.”
Smith said staying aggressive was another key.
“Feel for pitches comes and goes, but whatever you have that day, just stay aggressive with it,” he said.
Venable said it goes back to the fastball.
“He got away from it a little bit,” Venable said. “Secondary stuff is good too. There’s a tendency to lean on that too. But when he’s aggressive in the zone, he’s really really good and just kind of commands that dominance out there.
“We saw that tonight and the last couple.”
Catcher Kyle Teel said Smith’s fastball “looked electric.”
“He’s a power pitcher,” Teel said. “And I think he’s starting to learn himself and the catchers are starting to learn him better too. That’s just development and he’s doing great.”
The two runs Smith allowed Saturday came via solo home runs by Aaron Judge and Austin Wells. The Wells blast gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the seventh.
Curtis Mead began the bottom of the seventh for the Sox with a double. He scored on a one-out single by Chase Meidroth to tie it at 2.
The Sox hit two-out doubles in the eighth and ninth but failed to score, leading to extra innings. They finished 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
“We just have to make good swing decisions and use the middle of the field,” Venable said. “Each guy in different situations is going to attack differently. At the end of the day you have to shorten up, put the ball in play and use the whole field.”
Grant Taylor aided the Sox in 10th, making big pitches to get out of a jam. With a runner on third and one out, the Sox brought the infield in. Ryan McMahon hit a sharp grounder to second baseman Lenyn Sosa, who threw home to get Wells at the plate.
After a walk, Taylor struck out Grisham to end the inning. It was a nice rebound performance for Taylor, who allowed three runs while failing to record an out in Friday’s 10-2 loss.
“Grant was outstanding,” Venable said. “Competitive in the zone, threw strikes, did a nice job.”
The timely hits fell in the 11th for the Yankees and the Sox dropped to 3-7 in extra-inning contests this season.
“No one wants to have that result but I believe we gave it everything we had,” Teel said, “and the best part about baseball is we’ve got a game tomorrow.”