Jazz gets revenge after ejection review reveals surprising antagonist

CINCINNATI – A video clip was waiting for Jazz Chisholm Jr. when he walked into the visitors’ clubhouse at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday afternoon, shedding new light on the sequence that led to his ninth-inning ejection the night before.

The images danced on the screen: catcher Jose Trevino appearing to direct home-plate umpire Mark Wegner’s attention to third base, prompting Chisholm to ask: “Why are you looking at me?” Now he had the answer – and Chisholm exacted revenge, belting a two-run homer in the Yankees’ 7-1 victory over the Reds.

“After what happened last night, it felt great to get a hold of one,” Chisholm said. “I watched the video, and he was telling the umpire, ‘Hey, look at Jazz. I think Jazz is trying to tell you something.’ But I wasn’t. That’s just his game; we know Trevi. I thought it was pretty funny. That’s why I said it.”

The ejection in Tuesday’s game had come after a 2-0 pitch was ruled a strike, which Chisholm believed changed the course of an at-bat in which he struck out.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone had promised a deep dive to determine whether the ejection had been warranted. He was surprised to learn Trevino had played a role, saying pregame he was “down on Trevi right now.”

Wednesday, Chisholm dropped his bat and savored his trip around the bases after launching a third-inning shot off Brady Singer. He crossed home plate with a Eurostep, then told Trevino: “That was for last night.” Trevino, under his mask, appeared to grin.

According to Chisholm, Trevino had replied: “Easy, easy.”

Chisholm and Trevino were Yankees teammates last season. Before Monday’s game, Boone presented Trevino with his 2024 American League championship ring. As Chisholm came to home plate for his first at-bat on Wednesday, Trevino had teased: “Don’t forget, they need you on the field.”

“I thought he wanted to talk to [Wegner]. I thought he was trying to get his attention, so I was just helping him out,” Trevino said. “I was his teammate. I’m not going to fight the guy. It’s baseball.”

Jasson Domínguez and Trent Grisham each collected four hits in support of Max Fried, who became the Majors’ first 10-game winner this season. Fried is just the third Yankee since 1962 to be the Majors’ first to 10 victories, joining Tommy John (1979) and CC Sabathia (2010).

“It’s cool, but we’re all here just trying to win games,” Fried said. “A lot of that is a credit to my teammates for scoring runs and putting me in that position. It’s nice, but it’s more of a team stat than an individual.”

Mixing six pitches with pinpoint command, Fried delivered another stopper’s performance, limiting the Reds to an unearned run over seven innings. Fried improved to 8-1 with a 0.93 ERA (seven earned runs in 68 innings) in 10 starts following a Yankees loss.

“I told him again today: ‘Just watching you more and more, I would not have wanted to hit off you,’” Boone said. “He’s got so many weapons out there, and there’s just so much movement to all his pitches. He’s been terrific.”

The Yanks have won 13 of Fried’s first 17 starts. Especially considering Gerrit Cole’s season-ending right elbow injury, the early returns on Fried’s record-setting eight-year, $218 million contract have proven to be an excellent investment. They’re 33-30 when anyone else starts.

“He’s showing us why they’re paying him what they’re paying him, and why he’s the guy we always thought he was going to be,” Chisholm said. “I always give him his props and his flowers, but now he really can take them any time he wants.”

Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton contributed sixth-inning RBIs, while Domínguez enjoyed one of his best all-around performances.

“The Martian” collected a double and a run scored in the second inning, an infield hit in the fifth, a single and two stolen bases in the seventh, then another double and a run scored in the ninth.

“The more games that you play, the more it helps your confidence,” said Domínguez, who notched two hits from each side of the plate. “I think that has helped me a lot.”

Wednesday’s contest ended a grueling stretch of 16 games without an off-day for the Yankees, who dropped two of three in Cincinnati. They are a game below .500 this month (11-12) after going 35-22 over the first 57 games of the season.

“I think everybody’s going to sleep about 14 hours [Thursday],” Chisholm said with a grin.