The Yankees won their fourth straight game since acquiring Jazz Chisholm Jr., and it was his home run that propelled the Yankees to a 7-6, 12-inning win over the Phillies.
Here are 10 thoughts on the Yankees.
1. I love Jazz Chisholm Jr. How could you not? The Yankees are 4-0 since acquiring him and 3-0 with him in the lineup. All he’s done since putting on a Yankees uniform is hit, going 6-for-15 with four home runs, eight RBIs, a walk, a stolen base and a .400/.438/1.200 slash line.
“This is what I live for,” Chisholm said. “I love the lights. I love the big crowds. I love everything like that. It’s super exciting and I’m enjoying it.”
2. When Chisholm was a Marlin, the large crowds were few and far between. Now he’s playing in front of full stadiums every night and he’s putting on a show. His three-run home run on Tuesday night turned a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead. The blast was so effortless and led to him becoming the first player in Yankees history with four-plus home runs in his first three games with the team.
“That’s sick, to be part of the history of the New York Yankees,” Chisholm said. “It’s one of the sickest things anybody in baseball could hear.”
Not only has he been exceptional at the plate, he has played third base the last two games, a position he has never played before, and has flawlessly fielded everything hit to him.
“It looks like he’s been playing there his whole life,” Aaron Judge said. “He brings great energy.”
For the fourth straight day, Chisholm was the story as the Yankees won their fourth straight game for the first time since June 9-12. The game almost didn’t end with a win, though, following another blown save from Clay Holmes.
3. The Yankees held their 5-4 lead from the Chisholm home run until Holmes entered in the bottom of the ninth. It was never going to be an easy ninth with just a one-run lead for Holmes and his 5.16 ERA since May 20 since it’s never easy with Holmes because he relies on balls in play to consistently record outs and struggles to put away hitters with two strikes. When you rely on balls in play, bad things can happen, and bad things happened yet again with Holmes on the mound.
Holmes couldn’t put away JT Realmuto with an 0-2 count and he was able to roll a slow grounder to third to lead off the inning with a single. Nick Castellanos hit a double play ball to third, but the Yankees couldn’t turn it fast enough to erase the baserunner. Bryson Stott followed with a single on the ground to right field to move the runner to third before a wild pitch from Holmes allowed the tying run to score. Holmes got another ground ball to end the inning, but Gleyber Torres (who unfortunately survived another trade deadline as a Yankee) dropped the transfer to turn a double play for the second straight day. Eventually after an intentional walk, another single on the ground and finally a groundout, Holmes ended the inning.
4. “He threw the ball great,” Aaron Boone said. “I know that’s not a popular thing … but that’s tough luck right there.”
No, it’s not a popular thing, considering Holmes allowed the game to be tied on a wild pitch and has blown seven of 28 save opportunities this season. But it is and it isn’t tough luck. Holmes’ goal is to get ground balls. Again, when the ball is put into play bad things happen, and relying on those ground balls to both be hit hard enough to field and also be hit right at fielders is a parlay that Holmes keeps losing.
Here is what I wrote on Monday:
Is it too early to start a Jake Cousins for Closer petition? Cousins is the only Yankees reliever capable of consistently getting strikeouts and given Clay Holmes’ performance since mid-May, it’s completely acceptable to want someone else in that role. I don’t think the Yankees should have a set closer, but since they are going to, it should be someone other than Holmes, even if he did his job on Saturday night.
5. If not Cousins, maybe Mark Leiter Jr. will unseat Holmes. Leiter arrived to the game after its start and found himself making his Yankees debut in the 10th with the automatic runner on. He pitched a scoreless frame as the third member of his family to pitch for the Yankees.
“It’s a great legacy for my family,” Leiter said. “To get a chance to put on the pinstripes is pretty awesome.”
6. Will Warren also got his chance to wear a Yankees uniform for the first time as he was thrust into making his major-league debut against the majors’ best record after Gerrit Cole was scratched. Warren looked overmatched early, allowing a run in the first and three more in the second, but settled down to pitch 5 2/3 with no runs allowed over his final 4 1/3 innings.
7. Cole was scratched late with what the Yankees initially called “general body fatigue” as Cole said he wasn’t able to bounce back from his most recent start the way he normally does.
“Look, I’m still [seven] starts into this season for me,” Cole said. “Everyone else is in the middle of it all. I feel different than other people.”
I would think Cole would be more rested and have less fatigue considering he’s only seven starts into the season and it’s the end of July. He would typically make the seventh start of his season in early May. (In true Yankees fashion, Boone later said Cole has been dealing with a stomach bug recently, which didn’t match up with what the Yankees announced and Cole said.)
8. Whatever it is, fatigue, stomach bug, hangover, I don’t care as long as it’s not related to his elbow. If Cole needs more time to get ready for his next start, that’s fine. The free fall and collapse has momentarily stalled and the Yankees have a little room to breathe now with a five-game lead in the loss column on a playoff spot. The Yankees need Cole to be healthy and himself in October. Right now, he may not be healthy and clearly wasn’t himself against the Mets last week.
9. But knowing Luis Gil is at a point in terms of innings he’s never been at and knowing Cole has been shaky and now experiencing this odd general fatigue, wouldn’t you think the Yankees should have made a move for a starting pitcher at the trade deadline? The team is dangerously close to praying Clarke Schmidt returns and pitches the way he did before getting hurt and even more close to having to start both of their two inconsistent lefties in playoff games.
10. Before this six-game road trip against the Red Sox and Phillies I wondered if the Yankees could go winless, be out of a playoff spot and fire Boone by the end of day on Wednesday. That didn’t happen, but that’s dark things were for the Yankees less than a week ago. It’s wild what a few wins will do. It’s also wild to think about where the team may be if Trent Grisham didn’t come through down 0-2 against Kenley Jansen on Saturday night. Thankfully, he did, and thankfully the Yankees are back on track for the first time in six weeks with the schedule about to soften for all of August.
Last modified: Jul 31, 2024
