Since stepping into the visiting dugout at Fenway Park in Boston on Sunday, Jazz Chisholm Jr. has made an indelible first impression on the New York Yankees.
Chisholm, who hit four home runs with his new team, will make his home debut Friday night when the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays looking to win their sixth straight game.
Chisholm, acquired Saturday from the Miami Marlins in exchange for three prospects, made his debut in center field Sunday against the Boston Red Sox. He played three games as a third baseman for the first time in his career in a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies, recording consecutive multi-home runs and eight RBI in Monday’s 14-4 victory and Tuesday’s 7-6 12-inning victory.
“This is what I do for a living. I love the lights and I love the big crowds. It’s very exciting,” Chisholm said Tuesday about joining the Yankees. “Being under the lights, being in the big moments, I feel like that suits the way I play.”
Chisholm is batting .368 (7-for-19) with the Yankees after batting .249 in 101 games with the Marlins this season. In Wednesday’s 6-5 win, struggling veteran DJ LeMahieu hit a grand slam, drove in a career-high six RBI and Chisholm had one hit.
The sweep in Philadelphia gave the Yankees their fifth straight win, their first since winning a season-high eight straight games to start the season at 45-19 from May 29 to June 6. Prior to winning their past five games, the Yankees had fallen to 10-23.
“We feel a little better, but we know where we want to be and we’re still a long way from that finish line,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
The Yankees have played 15 straight games against teams with a winning percentage below .500, and the Blue Jays have lost three of four games in Baltimore.
The Blue Jays are in the midst of a 10-game series against the Yankees and Orioles, with a trip to Baltimore ending in a 10-4 loss on Wednesday. Addison Berger hit his first two career home runs in the series, and Joey Loperfido was 1-for-5 in his Toronto debut on Wednesday after being acquired from the Houston Astros in exchange for Yusei Kikuchi.
George Springer had two hits and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his hitting streak to 14. Guerrero is batting .500 (26-for-52) and holds the Blue Jays’ longest hitting streak this season.
“We’re not where we want to be right now as a team, as an organization, but there’s always a way to get something positive out of something,” Springer told reporters before Wednesday’s game. “We have a lot of guys that are going to gain valuable experience and in my eyes, there’s no substitute for that.”
Toronto’s revamped lineup will face Marcus Stroman (7-5, 3.64 ERA), who is 0-2 in his past five games with a 5.64 ERA. Stroman gave up nine hits and five runs (three earned) in 3 1/3 innings in a no-conclusion game, but New York came from behind to win 11-8 in 10 innings at Boston on Saturday.
The right-hander was undecided in four starts against the Blue Jays, where he played from 2014-2019, and compiled a 2.61 ERA.
The Blue Jays are scheduled to start Kevin Gausman (9-8, 4.44 ERA), who is 3-0 with a 3.57 ERA in his past three games. Gausman last pitched his second complete game of the season and third of his career in a 7-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday, allowing three runs on four hits.
Gausman has a 10-9 record with a 3.51 ERA in 34 games (28 starts) against the Yankees, and is 0-2 with a 10.97 ERA in three starts against them this season.
–Field Level Media
