NEW YORK – Jazz Chisholm Jr. held his pose for an extra second, arms locked as he tracked the flight of a sixth-inning drive toward the right-center-field seats. The Yankees infielder looked toward his teammates in the first-base dugout, then tossed his lumber into the air – a bat flip that said it all.
Chisholm’s tiebreaking blast off Jacob deGrom gave New York its first lead of the game. Cody Bellinger added a two-run double as they continued to roll, posting their 15th win in 17 games with a 7-4 victory over the Rangers on Tuesday evening at Yankee Stadium.
Texas right fielder Andrew McCutchen mustered only a courtesy jog in pursuit as Chisholm turned around a 98 mph heater for his fourth homer of the year, a Statcast-projected 413-foot drive. In the seventh, Texas intentionally walked Aaron Judge to load the bases for Bellinger, who promptly ripped Jalen Beeks’ first pitch to right to bring in a pair.
The Yankees have won eight consecutive home games dating to April 17, rallying after rookie right-hander Elmer Rodríguez surrendered three first-inning runs.
Making his second Major League start, Rodríguez had shaky command early, with two walks, a hit batter and a run-scoring wild pitch, but he settled in to complete 4 2/3 innings.
Left-hander Carlos Rodón is scheduled to be activated for the next turn through the rotation, with Rodriguez expected to be optioned back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Rodriguez walked four and struck out two, scattering six hits.
Bellinger missed a first-inning homer by inches, settling for a run-scoring double – the third time in a week that Bellinger has been a few feet shy of a homer. Ryan McMahon lifted a game-tying two-run shot in the second inning, McMahon’s third of the season.