NEW YORK – Jazz Chisholm Jr. didn’t hide his displeasure after being out of the lineup for the American League Wild Card Series opener Tuesday night, turning his back to rummage through his locker when questions were volleyed his way. The Yankees' sparkplug found what he was looking for – then showed exactly what they’d been missing.
Chisholm saved runs with stellar defense and dashed around the bases on Austin Wells’ go-ahead hit as the defending pennant-winners refused to let their season end quietly, posting a 4-3 victory over the Red Sox in Wednesday’s Game 2 at Yankee Stadium.
“We always put everything out there on the line, especially in the playoffs,” Chisholm said. “You don’t want to have any space or give another team a little bit of an edge. Obviously, I think it was a must-win.”
With Chisholm in motion on a full-count offering, Wells laced a Garrett Whitlock changeup to right field, the ball landing just inside the line. Chisholm charged around the bases at full speed, losing his helmet near third base and beating the throw to catcher Carlos Narváez with a headfirst slide. He was clocked at 9.16 seconds from first to home.
“I felt like I made a decent swing on one of his best pitches,” Wells said. “Having him at first, I was kind of expecting him to steal or do something. When it landed, I was just waiting to turn around and see him scoring.”
Chisholm’s athleticism made a difference in the field, too. He teamed with shortstop Anthony Volpe to turn a nifty double play in the third inning, then saved potentially two runs in the seventh with a dive that knocked down a Masataka Yoshida single, giving Fernando Cruz another chance to pitch out of trouble.
“I want to make sure it’s mentioned: Jazz saved us the game, completely,” Cruz said.
“What do you expect? The guy is a game-changer,” added captain Aaron Judge. “It just shows you the maturity, to take what happened the day before and bring it into today’s game. He showed up ready to play today and ended up having the biggest plays for us throughout the night.”
So how was Chisholm able to shrug off the disappointment he felt leaving the Bronx late Tuesday?
“I played MLB The Show and I mercy-ruled someone. That’s how I get my stress off,” Chisholm said, drawing laughter. “It’s true.”
Having also watched Game 1 from the bench, Ben Rice seized his first postseason opportunity, belting a two-run homer in the first inning that ignited the crowd and forecast a brief outing for Boston starter Brayan Bello.
“Being able to set the tone early for us in the first inning and give us a lead, I know I was able to get the boys fired up,” Rice said.
The advantage vanished when Carlos Rodón surrendered Trevor Story’s two-run single in the third, but New York regained the lead in the fifth. Trent Grisham walked, advanced on a wild pitch and scored when Judge lifted a fly to left that Jarren Duran charged and dived for but couldn’t corral, the ball dropping for a run-scoring hit.
Story struck back in the sixth, hammering a 2-0 Rodón fastball into the left-center-field seats. One night after weathering criticism for a seventh-inning hook of Max Fried, Yankees manager Aaron Boone visited his starter following a four-pitch walk to Alex Bregman, eyeing a buzzing bullpen.
“I was like, ‘All right, here’s my shot. I’ve got to be pretty up front with it,’” Rodón said. “So I said: ‘I am staying in.’”
Boone was convinced. With that, Rodón steadied himself, escaping on a pop-out and a double-play grounder. There was more trouble in the seventh, when Rodón permitted a walk, a wild pitch and a hit batter, but Cruz extinguished the fire.
Cruz pointed skyward after inducing an inning-ending Story flyout, unleashing a roar that Chisholm compared to Simba from “The Lion King.” Viewing Cruz as he came off the field, Rice remarked that he “could see every vein popping out of his head.”
“It’s time to compete. It’s time to go after it,” Cruz said. “I just compete. I grab the ball, that white thing, and let’s go – you vs. me.”
Devin Williams and David Bednar navigated the final two frames as the Yankees – winners of 94 regular-season games, and now one in October – have an opportunity to correct their recent playoff history against Boston.
In three autumn meetings since Boone’s pennant-winning homer in 2003, the Red Sox have claimed the upper hand – the 2004 ALCS, the ‘18 ALDS and the ‘21 Wild Card Game. The Yankees believe this time can be different.
“It’s win or go home for us,” Chisholm said. “And it’s all about winning.”