CHICAGO (Interstat) — Gerrit Cole allowed two runs over seven innings and David Bednar escaped a ninth-inning jam as the New York Yankees held on for a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field before 33,743 fans.

Cole, who improved to 3-5 on the season, scattered seven hits and struck out eight while walking two. He departed after seven scoreless frames, having faced only one batter over the minimum through six innings. Bednar recorded his 22nd save but needed to survive a two-run homer by Chase Meidroth in the bottom of the ninth.

The Yankees struck for all of their runs in the second inning against White Sox starter Anthony Kay. Jasson Domínguez led off with a single and Trent Grisham followed with a line-drive single to center. Anthony Volpe then doubled to deep center, scoring Domínguez and moving Grisham to third. After Jazz Chisholm Jr. struck out, Max Schuemann doubled to left, driving in both Grisham and Volpe for a 3-0 lead.

Kay settled down after the second, retiring 10 of the next 12 batters he faced before being lifted with one out in the sixth. He finished with 5 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and three earned runs while striking out seven. Kay fell to 7-5 with the loss.

The Yankees managed only one more hit after the second inning — a seventh-inning single by Amed Rosario — but their bullpen kept the White Sox at bay until the ninth. Angel Chivilli tossed a scoreless seventh and Ian Hamilton worked a clean eighth, striking out two.

Chicago threatened in the fourth when Munetaka Murakami doubled and Miguel Vargas walked, but Cole escaped the jam by getting Colson Montgomery to fly out and Andrew Benintendi to ground out. The White Sox again put two runners on in the sixth on a single by Benintendi, but Cole struck out Braden Montgomery to end the inning.

In the ninth, Bednar entered to protect a 3-0 lead. Andrew Benintendi struck out swinging to start the inning, but Braden Montgomery singled to right. Tristan Peters then struck out after a replay challenge overturned a ball call. With two outs, Meidroth crushed a 1-0 pitch to left field for his ninth home run of the season, cutting the deficit to 3-2. Everson Pereira, batting as a pinch hitter, struck out swinging to end the game.

Meidroth finished 1-for-4 with the homer and two RBIs. Murakami was 1-for-4 with a double. Drew Romo went 1-for-3. The White Sox outhit the Yankees 7-6 but left seven runners on base.

Domínguez had two hits for the Yankees. Volpe’s double and Schuemann’s double were the only extra-base hits for New York. The Yankees struck out 12 times but drew four walks.

New York improved to 61-46 with the win, while Chicago fell to 55-51. The game lasted 2 hours, 43 minutes.

The teams played for the second consecutive night after the Yankees won 9-5 on Monday. The Yankees have won four of their last six games, including three of four in Philadelphia over the weekend. The White Sox have lost two straight after winning four of their previous five.

New York wraps up its series in Chicago on Wednesday and Thursday before traveling to face the Chicago Cubs for a weekend set. The White Sox host the Yankees again Wednesday and Thursday before embarking on a road trip to Tampa Bay and Boston.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of New York Yankees 7, Chicago White Sox 6. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Yankees a 57.00 percent probability to win. New York entered the game as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of five runs scored went over the over-under line of eight.