CHICAGO -- The New York Yankees' youth movement took a big step backward as Bryan Mitchell, one of the young arms GM Brian Cashman said he was counting on to carry the first-place Yankees the rest of the way, came up short in his first start of the season, taking the loss in Saturday night's 8-2 drubbing by the Chicago White Sox at The Cell.
Admittedly, Mitchell didn't get much help from the offense, which looked a bit sluggish after Friday's night's 13-run outburst, but the 24-year-old right-hander, called up on Thursday, was in trouble in three of the five innings he worked, and his relief, Diego Moreno, was equally ineffective.
And with the Baltimore Orioles beating Detroit, the Yankees' lead in the American League East was shaved to five games.
Who misplaced the bats? With virtually the same lineup -- minus Carlos Beltran but plus Brett Gardner -- that pounded out 13 runs and 18 hits on Friday night, the Yankees managed just one run and four hits in the first seven innings against the White Sox and their starter, John Danks, who came in with a 4.97 ERA and against whom opponents were hitting a healthy .287. The Yankees' one run came on a sacrifice fly as Danks struck out eight in 5⅔ innings. And despite drawing five walks, there weren't many scoring opportunities -- after getting a single and double out of John Ryan Murphy and Brendan Ryan to start the third, they came away with one run; in the fourth they got two runners on base on a pair of two-out walks but fizzled when Murphy grounded out. They had runners on first and third with two outs in the sixth only to see ChiSox second baseman Carlos Sanchez rob pinch-hitter Brian McCann of a potential RBI single with a sliding stop in short right field. The Yankees added a run on McCann's solo home run, No. 17, with one out in the ninth. Make of it what you will: The Yankees were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
Hangover: After his huge Friday night, which included two home runs, one a grand slam, and six RBIs, Mark Teixeira struck out three times and drew a walk. Alex Rodriguez, who was 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI single and three walks on Friday, went 0-for-3. Chase Headley, who had three hits Friday, managed only a bloop single and Brendan Ryan, who also had three hits Friday, had a single in four at-bats.
Short leash: Manager Joe Girardi had said Mitchell could go 75-80 pitches, and sure enough, when he reached 78, Girardi pulled him, with two on and no one out in the fifth inning and the White Sox leading 3-1. That decision backfired when Moreno, who had thrown 5⅓ no-hit innings on Tuesday against the Texas Rangers, plunked the first batter he faced and surrendered a long three-run home run to the second, Melky Cabrera, to extend Chicago's lead to 6-1. Mitchell's final line -- 4-plus innings, 7H, 4ER, 2BB, 5K, 1HR -- was decidedly underwhelming.
No second act: Moreno, a star on Tuesday, was not much help on Saturday, allowing four runs in his three innings. Chicago got two more off him in the seventh on an RBI double by Alexei Ramirez and a wild pitch that scored Adam LaRoche from third.
Early jitters: Mitchell gave up single runs in each of the first two innings, allowing an RBI double by Jose Abreu in the first and a home run by Ramirez with one out in the second. Mitchell allowed a single in the third, the fifth ChiSox hit of the game off him, but kept them off the board by striking out LaRoche on a check swing to end the inning.
Highway robbery: ChiSox right fielder Avisail Garcia leaped high against the fence to rob Didi Gregorius of a probable three-run homer in the third, although John Ryan Murphy (leadoff double) scored from third on the catch to cut Chicago's lead to 2-1.
Tomorrow: The series, and the road trip, wraps up with Ivan Nova (3-3, 3.38) trying to salvage a series win against RHP Jeff Samardzija (8-5, 3.94), first pitch at 2:10 p.m. ET (YES/TBS).