Lopez gem, Abreu's HR not enough vs. Yanks

CHICAGO -- Reynaldo López carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning of the Yankees' 4-3 victory over the White Sox in 13 innings at Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday, a game decided by Miguel Andújar's two-out single against Luis Avilán, which scored Didi Gregorius.
The Yankees had grabbed a 3-1 lead in the top of the 10th on Giancarlo Stanton's two-run homer off Tyler Danish. But José Abreu tied the game in the bottom half of the frame with a two-run shot to right-center off Zach Britton. Abreu, who previously had three of the 20 strikeouts by White Sox hitters on Tuesday, was down to his final two strikes.

Lopez ultimately lost his piece of no-hitter history when Aaron Hicks doubled just out of the reach of left fielder Ryan LaMarre to lead off the frame, and Lopez finished with a no-decision. But his effort was anything but non-descript.

"I was feeling good," said Lopez through interpreter Billy Russo. "My arm was loose, was strong and that was a big factor in my performance today.
"It doesn't matter what team you're facing. I think you need to be focused every time, all the time against every team."
The White Sox right-hander threw fastballs on 68 of his 98 pitches, touching 98.9 mph, according to Statcast™. He often overpowered the New York hitters on his way to six strikeouts but also recorded seven swinging strikes on his slider before exiting with one run allowed over seven innings. It was the second straight quality start for Lopez, who has allowed three runs over his last 14 innings.

Andujar's first-pitch home run in the seventh provided the Yankees' only run off Lopez. They had a chance in the sixth with runners on first and third and nobody out, but Gregorius popped out to shortstop Tim Anderson, Gleyber Torres flied out to center fielder Adam Engel with the runners holding and Greg Bird struck out.
"His life was right from the get-go. Velocity was up, attacking the zone, got in some traffic, could have fallen apart but fought right through it," said White Sox manager Rick Renteria of Lopez. "That's a good ballclub and he worked, managed them as well as he could. He did an extremely nice job."
Engel caught everything within his reach and some out of his reach to support Lopez. After taking away a three-run homer from Bird with a leaping catch Monday, Engel one-upped himself on Tuesday by taking a home run away from Kyle Higashioka with one out in the fifth. Engel raced to the left-center-field wall, timing his leap perfectly to grab the drive at the apex of his jump.

After Engel made that catch, Lopez said that he wanted to drop his glove and run and "kiss him." Engel laughed upon hearing the comment, adding Lopez settled for hugging him instead.
"Tough game tonight against a really good ballclub," Renteria said. "Our guys battled. The guys kept battling and did what they needed to do."

SOUND SMART
Per STATS, Lopez became the fifth White Sox pitcher to carry a no-hitter into the sixth inning or beyond this season. He joins Carlos Rodón (5 2/3 innings at Angels on July 24), Dylan Covey (5 1/3 at Seattle on July 21), Lucas Giolito (5 1/3 vs. Twins on June 28) and James Shields (6 1/3 vs. Twins on May 6).
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Abreu became the 18th player in Major League history to hit 20-plus home runs in each of his first five seasons. Pete Incaviglia (1986-90), Eddie Murray (1977-81), Tony Conigliaro (1964-69), Ted Williams (1939-42, 1946) and Joe DiMaggio (1936-40) are the only players to accomplish the feat exclusively in the American League. It was Abreu's first career extra-inning home run in 56 career extra-inning plate appearances.
HE SAID IT
"Yesterday Ricky was in a meeting with the hitters and I passed through and I heard something that sticks with me: 'It doesn't matter what team you're facing, you need to do your best and you need to be ready to perform at your best.' That was something that resonated with me." -- Lopez

UP NEXT
Right-hander Giolito (7-8, 5.97 ERA) is scheduled to make his 23rd start of 2018, his 12th at home and the first of his career against the New York Yankees for Wednesday's series finale with a 7:10 p.m. CT first pitch. Luis Severino is set to pitch for New York. Giolito is 2-1 with a 3.19 ERA, and .198 opponents average over his last five starts.