The New York Yankees needed someone to take over a game they could not afford to give away, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. did exactly that. He homered twice and drove in five runs Monday night as New York beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5 at Yankee Stadium.
Chisholm put the Yankees ahead for good with a two-run drive in the third that flipped a one-run deficit into a 6-5 lead, an inning after his three-run shot had staked them to an early cushion. It was the 10th multi-homer game of his career, and the sort of night New York has been waiting on as it chases the division.
José Caballero added two RBI, and the bullpen handled the rest. Ryan Weathers was not sharp, charged with five runs over 4 2/3 innings, but four New York relievers combined for scoreless work the rest of the way. Fernando Cruz struck out three in the ninth to nail down the save.
Pittsburgh got a two-run homer from Esmerlyn Valdez and an RBI from Jared Triolo, but starter Braxton Ashcraft could not navigate the middle innings and was tagged for seven runs. For a Yankees team with October expectations, beating a rebuilding club at home is the assignment rather than the achievement — but this is exactly what New York has paid Chisholm to do, and it keeps the pressure on Tampa Bay. At 56-44, the Yankees remain 1.5 games back of the first-place Rays.
Chisholm is universally rostered, so the note for managers is the power surge from an up-the-middle spot: ride it while the barrels keep coming. Caballero is a useful stolen-base streamer whenever he starts, and Cruz, who has been working the highest-leverage innings, is worth speculating on for saves in any league still shopping the category.
