Benintendi pinch-hit – Andrew Benintendi returned to Yankee Stadium and delivered the swing that changed everything—pinch-hitting a go-ahead grand slam to lift the Chicago White Sox to a 5-1 victory over his former team on Thursday night.
Andrew Benintendi walked into the biggest moment of the eighth inning with the game tied 1-1, bases loaded, and one out. Four pitches earlier, the Yankees had already started tightening things up—then Will Venable turned the lineup over again.
Benintendi. a former New York Yankees outfielder who played for the Yankees during the second half of the 2022 season. was inserted to hit for Randal Grichuk. another former Yankee. The scene had been built for him. Chicago had used multiple pinch hitters in the inning. beginning with Sam Antonacci. who doubled off New York reliever Fernando Cruz after entering for Luisangel Acuna. Jacob Gonzalez and Tristan Peters followed, both hit by pitches by Yankees left-hander Tim Hill, loading the bases.
After Hill recorded a strikeout against Chase Meidroth, New York’s manager Aaron Boone called on Camilo Doval. On Doval’s first pitch—a 100 mph sinker—Benintendi drove the ball into the right-center seats for a grand slam. The hit gave the White Sox a 5-1 lead. and it was Benintendi’s fourth career grand slam as well as his second pinch-hit home run.
It also belonged to a rare slice of White Sox history. The grand slam was the first pinch-hit grand slam by a White Sox player since Orlando Hudson accomplished the feat on September 29, 2012.
The moment didn’t just feel special because of where it came from. It was also the first time the Yankees had to absorb a very specific kind of damage at Yankee Stadium: Benintendi became only the second opposing player in Yankee Stadium history to launch a pinch-hit. go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning or later. The other name on that list was pitcher Tommy Byrne, who did so for Chicago on May 16, 1953.
Chicago didn’t arrive at this win on one swing alone. Colson Montgomery had already swung the momentum in the second inning by hitting his 20th home run of the season. Montgomery also made a crucial defensive play, tagging out Anthony Volpe after a throwing play from Junior Perez.
On the mound, the White Sox kept their side of the deal after Bryan Hudson opened the game. Sean Burke took over in bulk relief and delivered one of the cleanest long outings of his role: he pitched 7 1/3 innings. allowing 1 run on 5 hits with 8 strikeouts. matching his career high for innings pitched. Ryan McMahon was the only one who could answer for New York. driving in the Yankees’ lone run with a solo home run in the third inning.
For Chicago, the win carried extra weight in the Bronx. It ended a difficult stretch in which the White Sox had been outscored heavily in previous meetings, and it was their first win at Yankee Stadium since June 8, 2023.
By the time Benintendi’s ball cleared the right-center gap. the story at Yankee Stadium had already turned: not just a former teammate returning. but a pinch-hit grand slam that carved out a place in both franchises’ history—on a night the White Sox finished what they started and closed it out with a 5-1 victory.
Andrew Benintendi Chicago White Sox New York Yankees Yankee Stadium grand slam pinch-hitter Tim Hill Camilo Doval Sean Burke Colson Montgomery Bryan Hudson Aaron Boone Will Venable