Chicago — Bryan Mitchell's first start of the season was a rough one.

Mitchell was knocked out in the fifth inning of the New York Yankees' 8-2 loss to John Danks and the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night.

Brian McCann hit his 17th homer for AL East-leading New York, which finished with five hits. The Yankees have dropped three of four since a stretch of eight wins in nine games.

Mitchell (0-1) was charged with four runs and seven hits in four-plus innings. The right-hander struck out five and walked two.

"I tried to pitch us as deep in the game as I could," he said. "I felt like the second, third and fourth innings I settled down a lot. And then in the fifth things got a little out of hand."

Melky Cabrera and Alexei Ramirez homered as Chicago rebounded from Friday night's 13-6 loss in the series opener. The White Sox have won eight of 10 to get back into the AL wild-card race.

John Danks (6-8) held the Yankees to a run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked four but his eight strikeouts matched a season high.

The left-hander improved to 3-0 with a 3.44 ERA in his last six starts.

"Tonight's the best stuff I've had in two years," he said. "It's nice to see it coming back a little bit. I don't know if that had anything to do with my command or if I was just off. But it's nice to be able to reach back and throw a respectable fastball."

Manager Joe Girardi said Danks' control helped keep the Yankees off balance.

"(Danks) expanded when he could and he threw well," Girardi said. "That changes the complexion of the game a little bit too. When you have a lead you can use your bullpen a little bit different, but we weren't able to get the lead."

Tyler Saladino hit an RBI single in the fifth to give the White Sox a 3-1 lead and knock Mitchell out of the game. Diego Moreno came in and hit Jose Abreu with a pitch before Cabrera connected for a three-run homer.

"(Moreno) left a changeup to Melky," Girardi said. "He just threw 70 pitches just four days ago so I thought he did a decent job for us. He saved our bullpen."

Abreu extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI double in the first. Ramirez homered in the second and doubled home a run in the seventh.

Worth noting

The Yankees recalled RHP Nick Rumbelow from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and sent RHP Nick Goody to their top farm club before the game.

Trainer's room

Yankees: RF Carlos Beltran (sore left foot) got the day off. Girardi said he could play on Sunday.

White Sox: OF J.B. Shuck (hamstring) went on the 15-day disabled list and RHP Scott Carroll was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte. ... With Shuck sidelined, manager Robin Ventura acknowledged the team likely will need to add a position player. OF Trayce Thompson might be a possibility. His brother, Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, tweeted that Trayce reached the majors. Klay later deleted the tweet. ... OF Dayan Viciedo signed a minor league contract and was assigned to Triple A.

In the forecast

Yankees pitching prospect Luis Severino is scheduled to make his major league debut Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox. Masahiro Tanaka will pitch Tuesday and CC Sabathia is scheduled to start Thursday, as long as the left-hander has recovered from the dehydration he experienced Thursday, Girardi said.

Severino is expected to replace Michael Pineda, who is on the 15-day disabled list for a strained forearm.

Up next

Yankees RHP Ivan Nova (3-3, 3.38 ERA) is scheduled to start Sunday in the series finale against RHP Jeff Samardzija (8-5, 3.82 ERA).