CHICAGO — Juan Soto hit his first career three-homer game, Nestor Cortes pitched seven scoreless innings and the New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 4-1 on Tuesday night to take sole possession of the AL East lead.
Soto hit a two-run homer off starter Jonathan Cannon (2-6) in the third inning and went the other way with a leadoff homer in the fifth. The four-time All-Star added his 33rd homer of the season in the seventh inning off left-handed reliever Fraser Ellard, connecting on a drive to right field that made it 4-0.
“I've been working on trying to be accurate with the ball,” Soto said in his post-match on-court interview with YES Network. “Trying to make contact with the ball, put the barrel on the ball and forget about what's going to happen.”
With a chance to tie the major league record of four homers in a game, Soto walked in the ninth after swinging and missing a 3-0 pitch that was just outside the strike zone.
“All three of them were pretty impressive,” New York manager Aaron Boone said of the homers. “Watching Juan, I feel like I'm watching one of the best seasons I've ever seen in my life.”
Cortes (6-10), who allowed nine hits and six earned runs in a short outing against the Angels five days earlier, scattered three hits and matched his season high with nine strikeouts.
“It was fantastic,” Boone said of his starter's performance. “I loved the way he threw the ball.”
Luis Robert Jr. spoiled New York's shutout bid with an RBI single in the eighth inning off Mark Leiter Jr. Jake Cousins, the last of the four relievers, got three outs, two with the bases loaded, for his first career save.
Buoyed by Soto, the Yankees, who lost to the White Sox 12-2 in the series opener, woke up and moved a half-game ahead of second-place Baltimore, which lost to the Washington Nationals.
“It's a tough at-bat, every day,” Boone said of opponents preparing for Soto.
Cannon allowed five hits and three walks while striking out four in 4⅔ innings. The White Sox had five hits one night after racking up 18 in a 12-2 victory. They have lost 31 of their last 36 games.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge went 2 for 3 with a pair of singles and two walks to remain at 299 career homers.
But the night clearly belonged to Soto.
“It's impressive. He waited until he got a pitch thrown at him every at-bat and did a lot of damage,” said Judge, who later called Soto “the best hitter in the game.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
