HOUSTON – Jazz Chisholm Jr. is officially heating up.
Producing multiple hits for the third time in his past four games, Chisholm drove in four runs and scored three times Friday night to lead the Yankees to a 12-4 victory over the Houston Astros, extending New York’s winning streak to seven games.
Chisholm’s two-run single off Lance McCullers Jr. gave the Yankees a 3-0 first-inning lead. He put them up 5-1 by leading off the fourth with a home run to right field off McCullers, then made it 10-2 with an RBI single in the seventh. Chisholm finished 3-for-4 with a walk.
Chisholm, who through Wednesday was homerless in 23 games this season, now has two home runs after going deep in back-to-back contests. In going 7-for-16 over his past four games, Chisholm has taken his slash line from .164/.265/.233 to .213/.300/.337.
“I feel like me again,” the second baseman said. “It feels good to know that when you swing the bat, you know you’re going to make good contact and hit it off the barrel.”
In 2025, Chisholm produced the fourth 30-30 season in Yankees history, finishing with 31 home runs and 31 stolen bases. After hitting his first home run of the season Thursday in a 4-2 Yankees win that completed a three-game road sweep of the Red Sox, Chisholm revealed he had backed off the plate and closed his stance a little.
“I really looked at my video last year,” Chisholm said Friday. “[My stance] wasn’t as closed off [as last year], but you’ve got to start somewhere.”
Manager Aaron Boone said he’s seeing a more relaxed Chisholm at the plate.
“I feel like along the way over the last few weeks, there’s been a day where he’s started to see like, ‘OK, there he is,’ and then he’d fall back for a day or two,” Boone said. “But now [it’s] back-to-back days where he’s had some really good swings.”
Ryan McMahon, Ben Rice and José Caballero also homered for the Yankees, who totaled 13 hits in providing ample support for Will Warren, who pitched six innings and improved to 3-0. Warren allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out six.
Warren said he can pitch “with absolutely no fear when they put up runs like that. I think you go out there, and you know, here it is, and let them play behind you.”
The Yankees, whose 17-9 record is the best in the American League, have scored at least four runs in nine consecutive games and 12 of their past 13. Trent Grisham and Aaron Judge were the only Yankees without a hit Friday, but Grisham drew two walks and produced a sacrifice fly, and Judge walked three times. Even Randal Grichuk, who pinch-ran for Giancarlo Stanton after the DH experienced tightness in his right calf in the sixth inning, contributed a double.
“It makes it feel much better going up there yourself when your whole team is out there and you all believe that every time somebody goes in the box, everybody’s going to get a hit,” Chisholm said. “You always say hitting is contagious, and when everybody’s doing it, you can’t get enough of it.”
A ninth-inning strikeout was the only blemish on Chisholm’s night. He appealed a called third strike that was down the middle, but he was able to look at things lightheartedly with his teammates after the fact.
“We laughed,” Chisholm said. “You’ve just got to laugh at that point. We’re winning. It’s a kid’s game. Sometimes you’ve just got to laugh at yourself.”
Opposing pitchers won’t be laughing if Chisholm has truly found himself at the plate. He may have paired only two home runs with his eight stolen bases so far, but he says another 30-30 season remains a legitimate goal.
“The season just started. We’re not even a full month in,” Chisholm said. “[I’m] starting to feel good at the right time. [30-30] is just normal.”