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CHICAGO -- The New York Yankees made sure their trip home Sunday was a happy one by concluding a taxing 10-game road trip with a 12-3 win against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. The Yankees (59-45) had 11 hits in the victory, which gave them the edge in the three-game series and bumped their record to 7-0-1 in their last eight completed series. New York hasn't lost a series since the Los Angeles Angels took two of three games June 29 to July 1 in Anaheim.
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"This was a pretty tough trip physically, too, for our guys," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi, whose team went 6-4 on the trip. "I know we only had maybe two day games, but the heat in Texas, the heat here today, I give those guys a lot of credit in there."
It was 98 degrees when the first pitch was thrown Sunday, and the temperature reached as high as 99 degrees before a nearby storm front that missed the stadium helped cool things off a little.
The searing heat didn't seem to bother right-hander Ivan Nova (4-3), who bounced back from a bout with arm fatigue in his last start by holding Chicago (50-53) to just one run in six innings. Nova struck out seven against five hits and two walks, and even battled through a foul line drive in the fourth that hit his pitching hand in the dugout.
"Everything was working for me," said Nova, whose sinker ball gave the White Sox fits. "It was a good day. I felt great and I (found) some pitches I really liked."
Right-hander Jeff Samardzija (8-6) took the loss in his worst outing of the season for Chicago. Coming into the game, he had lost just once in his previous nine starts.
The White Sox opted not to trade Samardzija prior to the trade deadline Friday, and two days later he struggled in 4 2/3 innings. He gave up nine runs on eight hits, struck out three, walked two and hit two batters.
"You've got to move on from it," Samardzija said. "It's not what we wanted. I put too many guys on base for free, for sure, especially against a lineup like that. You've got to get the outs and make them put it in play."
Two of the hits he gave up were solo home runs by Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira and center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who launched the second pitch of the game into the seats in left center field.
Second baseman Stephen Drew, the Yankees' ninth hitter, went 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs to lead New York, which also got big showings from Ellsbury (1-for-3, three RBIs), left fielder Brett Gardner (1-for-4, two RBIs) and shortstop Didi Gregorius (2-for-4, two RBIs).
New York's seventh, eighth and ninth hitters finished a combined 7-for-16 with six RBIs and scored eight runs.
"They got a good team over there," said White Sox center fielder Adam Eaton, who went 2-for-3 and extended his hitting streak to 11 games. "It kind of got out of hand early, but they bring some heavy lumber over there. Their lineup is stacked to say the least."
In their two wins against the White Sox this weekend, the Yankees scored a combined 25 runs on 29 hits, with three of those hits leaving the playing field courtesy of Teixeira. He went 1-for-4 with the homer Sunday, which was his 29th of the season and fifth in the past four games.
First baseman Jose Abreu extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a long single in the first, left fielder Melky Cabrera went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the sixth and the White Sox got solo homers in the seventh by shortstop Alexei Ramirez and catcher Geovany Soto -- whose home run was the 100th of his career.
New York scored five runs on five hits in the fourth, added three more on two hits in the fifth and scored three more times in the seventh for as 12-1 lead.
NOTES: The Yankees placed rookie RHP Diego Moreno on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow. Moreno threw three innings and allowed four runs in New York's 8-2 loss Saturday. He will meet with team physician, Dr. Christopher Ahmad, on Monday. ... New York recalled RHP Branden Pinder from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Moreno's roster spot. Pinder threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. ... Yankees RF Carlos Beltran returned to the lineup Sunday after a sore left foot held him out Saturday. ... LHP C.C. Sabathia remains on schedule to start Thursday against the Boston Red Sox, after dehydration following his last start in Texas led to a one-night hospital stay. Sabathia have a bullpen session Monday or Tuesday in New York. ... The White Sox optioned RHP Scott Carroll to Triple-A Charlotte after the game and will announce a corresponding roster move prior to a game Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
