The New York Yankees split a doubleheader with the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. They won the opener 2-0 behind eight shutout innings from Carlos Rodón. They lost the nightcap 6-1 and watched the Rays celebrate an American League East title on their own field.
It was not the kind of night anyone in pinstripes wanted. But for one player, the simple act of being in the lineup again mattered more than the scoreboard.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. was activated from the injured list for the second game after missing two weeks with a sprained right thumb. He started at second base, went 1-for-3 with a walk, and found himself in the middle of a messy defensive sequence that helped the Rays pull away.
After the game, Chisholm did not talk about the loss first. He talked about being back.
What the Return Means to Chisholm
Chisholm was asked what it meant to be healthy enough to rejoin the team with the postseason days away. His answer was immediate.
“It means a lot,” Chisholm said. “I just want to be out here with my team and help them win any way I can. Try to get back as quick as I could and feel as healthy as I could to help us go on a playoff run.”
Two weeks on the shelf with a thumb injury is not the kind of absence that rewrites a season. But for a player like Chisholm, whose energy and aggressiveness define his value, being away from the group during a stretch where every game shapes the postseason picture was difficult.
“Physically I feel pretty good,” Chisholm said. “Yeah, it’s pretty good.”
The Bunt Play
The return was not clean. In the seventh inning with runners on the corners and a bunt coming, Chisholm failed to cover first base on a safety squeeze from Taylor Walls. Luis García Jr. charged the ball as designed, but Chisholm hesitated, believing García would turn back to the bag. Nobody covered. A run scored. The inning spiraled into a three-run frame that put the game out of reach.
Chisholm did not make excuses.
“Just certain plays,” Chisholm said. “I went to go over there at first and saw it straight back to the pitcher. So I thought it would have put on the brakes and went back. Next time, just keep going through.”
Manager Aaron Boone was direct about it too. Chisholm needs to go to first every time in that situation. He knows it. The rust showed on one play. The awareness of what went wrong showed in how he handled it afterward.
Final Word for the Yankees
The division is gone. The World Series is not.
Chisholm acknowledged that postgame: “It kind of sucks…that’s what we work on all season. But it’s not the end goal for us. The end goal is the World Series. So it doesn’t really affect us here. It’s just keep going from here on out.”
Five games to go.
Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. Sends Strong Message After Loss to Rays