CHICAGO — With a chance to take three of four from the lowly White Sox and head to Houston for three games against the premier team in the American League, the Yankees spent a lost night at Guaranteed Rate Field Thursday evening.
In the first inning of his major league debut, right fielder Dustin Fowler suffered an open rupture of the patella tendon, needed a cart to leave the field and underwent surgery at Rush University Medical Center.
From there, the Yankees went on to drop a 4-3 decision in front of an announced crowd of 21,032 that had to experience close to a three-hour rain delay before the first pitch was thrown.
The loss dropped the 42-35 Yankees, who have lost 12 of the last 16 games, into second place in the AL East, where the Red Sox hold a one-game lead.
David Robertson recorded the final three outs for the save and won a game-ending duel with Aaron Judge as Brett Gardner represented the potential tying run on first base.
Robertson, the former Yankees closer, got ahead 0-2 on Judge, whom the White Sox walked intentionally with nobody on base in the seventh. Two breaking balls missed before Judge fouled off a 93-mph fastball. Robertson won the battle when Judge missed on an 84-mph breaking ball in the dirt that ended the long evening.
Fowler’s injury was the latest to a team that has added a player a day to the disabled list, but Judge knows self-pity isn’t the answer.
“We have to keep going, keep battling,’’ said Judge, who missed a homer in the fifth by the length of left fielder Melky Cabrera’s glove. “We’ll get better.’’
Luis Cessa made his third start of the year and absorbed the loss and is 0-3. In 4²/₃ innings, he allowed four runs (two earned), five hits, walked three and hit a batter. The two unearned runs were the result of Rob Refsnyder, Fowler’s replacement in right field, dropping a two-out fly ball on the warning track that scored two.
James Shields gave up three runs (two earned) and five hits for the win and is 2-1.
Jacoby Ellsbury’s leadoff single in the eighth and steal of second with one out gave the Yankees a chance to tie the score, but former Yankee Anthony Swarzak popped up pinch-hitter Chase Headley and struck out Austin Romine to keep the one-run lead intact.
Gardner opened the ninth with a single, but early in Judge’s at-bat, the White Sox had no fear that Gardner would steal second and force the White Sox to intentionally walk Judge that they didn’t hold him. At 2-0, they held Gardner who never budged.
“It’s hard to take the bat out of Judge’s hand,’’ manager Joe Girardi said.