A day after he ‘swallowed it up,’ Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. He plays the hero in defeating the Pirates.
NEW YORK – Usually a man of many names, Jazz Chisholm Jr. provided a brief summary of its season on Sunday night.
The second baseman had just played the role of hero, pitching an eighth inning solo shot that saved the New York Yankees from being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game series and a doubleheader. But when the focus of his postgame interview shifted from his latest at-bat to his overall performance, Chisholm criticized himself.
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“I nursed the whole season,” he said. “The numbers speak for themselves.”
Chisholm said after raising his OPS to .705 on Sunday. Indeed, it has been a disappointing year for the 28-year-old, who joined the 30-30 club last season and entered the 2026 campaign with his aim of securing a multimillion-dollar contract this winter.
In the middle of Sunday’s games, Aaron Boone emphasized that Chisholm is “one of those guys that we have high expectations for,” meaning he didn’t live up to expectations for the Yankees’ Aaron Judge-less offense. “He hasn’t continued this real, real hot performance yet this year,” the manager continued.
If the Yankees are lucky, such a streak started Sunday night, as Chisholm caught the momentum in the first game of Monday’s series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With a two-run home run off All-Star righty Braxton Ashcraft, Chisholm led the Yankees to an 8-5 win.
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The left-handed hitter is now hitting .228 with a .726 OPS, 16 dingers, 43 RBI and 26 stolen bases this season after going 2 for 4 on Monday.
Chisholm’s first jack of the game came early in the inning, and after the Yankees had already scored on a double play error by the Pirates’ defense. With two men on, Chisholm uncorked a curveball that hung over the heart of the plate and dropped it into the right field seats of Yankee Stadium.
Chisholm’s second long ball at bat came on a slider and ended the seven-pitch battle. The leadoff hit went into the second deck near the right-field foul pole, Chisholm leaned over home plate and watched the two-run rocket. When he saw that the ball landed well, he flipped his bat and hit his chest as he turned toward the Yankees dugout.
That’s the kind of scene the Bombers would like to see more of in the second half. Chisholm’s bank account doesn’t matter either, but he’s been hard to come by this season, as Boone noted Sunday.
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“He started slowly, obviously, in April, and I feel like he’s settled in the last few months, but he’s been up and down,” the manager said. “Not those times where he can change the game in so many offensive ways, and we’ve got to get him there.”
But Chisholm changed the last two games for the Yankees. His last performance helped them overcome the slow shutout of Ryan Weathers, who allowed five earned runs after taking a 4-0 lead.
José Caballero also helped the Yankees hold off the Pirates, adding two runs after Chisholm homered in the third inning. The hard worker also played a role in cleaning up the bench, as former Yankee Dennis Santana seemed to disagree with Caballero’s use of the clock, as he waited until the last second to pitch in when he pitched in the eighth inning.
Santana and Caballero taunted each other, and the reliever had to be blocked, but more than that happened before the Yankees could complete their victory.
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