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.
“Finally,” Chisholm said. “It’s about time; I’ve been waiting on it, working on it, and I’m finally getting some luck.”
Chisholm’s tiebreaking blast off Jacob deGrom gave New York its first lead of the game. Ryan McMahon and Paul Goldschmidt also homered as the Yankees continued to roll, posting their 15th win in 17 games with a 7-4 victory over the Rangers on Tuesday evening at Yankee Stadium.
“The positivity in the clubhouse right now is just super crazy,” Chisholm said. “Everybody is on a real high horse right now. We just want to ride it out as long as we can.”
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. Each of Chisholm’s homers has come in his past 12 games.
“We went up against one of the best pitchers in the game and got down early, but we found a way to chip away,” Goldschmidt said. “It’s something we talked about in the spring; it can’t be just one or two guys. We’ve done a good job so far, but there’s a long way to go.”
In the seventh, Texas intentionally walked Aaron Judge to load the bases for Cody Bellinger, who promptly ripped Jalen Beeks’ first pitch to right for a double to bring in a pair.
“He’s swinging the bat so well right now,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s always ready for it. He handles the situation so well.”
But – appropriately on a night when Mariano Rivera was in the building, observing from the suite level – the grittiest work was performed by the “Enter Strandman” bullpen, which pinned eight inherited runners on base.
It was only the second time in the Expansion Era (since 1961) that the Yankees had at least eight inherited runners and didn’t allow any to score, also achieved Aug. 14, 2021, against the White Sox.
“We feed off it; it’s a next-man-up mentality,” said David Bednar, who recorded five outs for his 10th save. “You want to hand the baton off and just keep it going, whatever it takes to get a win.”
Brent Headrick continued to shine amidst a heavy workload, retiring all four batters he faced, three via strikeout. Headrick has stranded each of his 13 inherited runners this season.
That’s now consecutive nights in which the Yankees’ championship belt – indicative of the team’s most valuable contributor – has been awarded to relievers: Jake Bird on Monday, Headrick on Tuesday.
“I don’t think anybody else is getting it back; they made a mistake giving it to the bullpen,” Bednar said.
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. Rodríguez was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I was dreaming of getting to the bigs and hopefully playing for the Yankees,” Rodríguez said. “Just to be here, I’m extremely blessed. I’m just thankful for the opportunity to be here and wear the pinstripes.”
Boone said he was pleased with how Rodríguez – the Yanks’ No. 3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline – limited damage.
“It was a great learning experience,” Boone said. “You’re in the fire right there, and it can go haywire really quick. He didn’t flinch. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but he battled his butt off.”
Owning the American League’s best record (25-11) and the Majors’ best rotation ERA (2.77) through Tuesday’s action, the Yankees could be about to become even stronger.
Left-hander Carlos Rodón is scheduled to be activated for the next turn through the rotation. Meanwhile, Gerrit Cole could be back in the Majors by the end of the month.
“We can’t wait,” Chisholm said. “Those guys are what makes us who we are, especially when it comes to the playoffs. Right now, we’re just hoping they stay healthy and come back as soon as possible.”