Luis Gil meltdown, Juan Soto helmet smash prove Yankees failing fortitude test vs. White Sox

The New York Yankees, in the midst of a playoff race and AL East showdown, were given the type of bizarre midseason challenge this week that no team wants: a three-game faceoff with a team so laughably bad that the whole world will clown them if they lose even once. Based on the opening frames of the season, the pressure was, undoubtedly, on.

Baseball's baseball, and truth be told, the Yankees weren't set up particularly well for this series in Chicago against a 91-loss White Sox club battling it out with the ghosts of the 1962 Mets. After all, the bullpen was turned to mush on Sunday in the wake of two doubleheaders in three days. The slumping Nestor Cortes Jr. and TBD are currently projected to pitch Tuesday and Wednesday. Rest assured, this will not be easy, and nothing will be handed to the Yankees. The White Sox may have a Triple-A lineup, but they're also facing Triple-A pitching.

Early on Monday night, the Yankees definitely look like a team that believes they can mess around and get what they want anyway. With no one out in the first inning, Aaron Judge mashed a RBI double, setting the Yankees up for a big inning. Instead, they popped out three consecutive times.

Right-hander Luis Gil followed that with a 34-pitch frame, bailed out only by Chicago's incompetence, as the final out of the frame was gunned down at the plate by 10 feet. Clearly, he took his own personal step back ... poorly, throwing his glove in the dugout after one inning.

Yankees' Luis Gil, Juan Soto can't keep their cool vs. White Sox

Never let them see you sweat, right? Failing to adhere to the old axiom, the Yankees have instead invited the White Sox into the sauna and shined a spotlight on their own sopping wet brows. Pathetic.

Of course the Yankees piled more runners on in the second, and of course they failed spectacularly once again. With the bases loaded, one man out, and Juan Soto at the plate, the Yankees' superstar took a hack at a 2-0 pitch and popped up harmlessly. Aaron Judge, the next batter, hit a fly ball to right that would've been a grand slam at Yankee Stadium and Yankee Stadium only. Here? Just a harmless out. Soto, after neutering the rally, was spotted in the dugout slamming a helmet into the bench.

If this is how the 2024 Yankees handle the oppressive heat of a road game against the 28-91 White Sox, then best of luck in the playoffs.