Jazz Chisholm Jr. might have hit a homer, in what was not the best night for the New York Yankees. They had already stumbled and won game 1 with the Kansas City Royals, and in Game 2, they lost. But that wasn’t the big news of the night. While Chisholm Jr.’s night inning homer did bring a spark to an otherwise sleepy team, it is what happened after the loss to the Kansas City Royals that made the news. And is now a major talking point!

As Chisholm Jr. left the field, he didn’t hold back to talk his mind. With the ALDS headed to Kansas City, he made a bold claim- that the Yankees would be the team to advance further. Way to add more pressure, Aaron Judge sure must be listening closely! His confidence was palpable because the Yankees truly stubbled both games with the Royals without Judge being his best. But Chisholm didn’t shake from his belief and he practically challenged the Royals to prove him wrong. 

Jazz Chisholm Jr. confident or overconfident?

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is fresh in from the Miami Marlin trade deadline. But he wasted no time in ranking out points with his new team. In just 46 games, he has hit .273/.325/.500 with 11 home runs and 23 RBIs. Sure Game 2 with the Royals didn’t end well, but he still went 1-for-4 and managed a solo home run. And after the game, he spoke his heart out to the reporters. 

“We’re gonna win it,” said Chisholm confidently. “We had a lot of missed opportunities…They just got lucky. I still feel like this team is the best to do it.” But wait, his bold speech didn’t stop there. “One day we get our butts kicked, but the next day, we’re kicking butts.” Chisholm may be new to the New York Yankees, but he had complete faith in his team.

Well, these bold claims of Royals being ‘lucky’ are sure to light fire under the Kansas City Royals. Plus, even the Yankees will feel the heat, because they need to back up Chisholm’s big claims with strong performances. Aaron Judge too had said that they missed chances, and they need to capitalize on that—maybe that’s what the game plan should be for Game 3. Over the last two games, the Yankees are just 3-for-19, leaving 19 runners on base. So Yanks need to turn things around fast if they want to live up to Chisholm’s bold claims. 

Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s defensive missteps overshadow his home run

Jazz Chisholm Jr. no doubt made an impact with his home run. But well, that doesn’t overshadow the fact that his defensive skills took a backseat. And it played a bigger role in their loss to the Royals in Game 2 of the ALDS. Chisholm made two defensive blunders, making his home run more of a consolation for his struggling offense. The first and more significant mistake occurred during a four-run fourth inning that shifted the game’s momentum. With Tommy Pham on second, he failed to cut off Alex Verdugo’s throw from left field. This allowed the opposite team to rack on extra runs.

Talking about the moment, Chisholm took full responsibility and said, “I thought about it right away. I don’t know if you guys saw me, I said, ‘My bad’ to [Alex] Verdugo right away. Cause that’s supposed to stop the inning right there.” But damage was done and in the end, what could have been just two runs ended up becoming a four-run problem!

Aaron Boone weighed in on the situation and just blamed Chisholm’s lack of experience playing in the position as the main issue. “That’s one of the things I worry about with some of our guys that are new to first base or new to third base,” said Boone. But well, the damage has been done and now the Yankees just need to move on.

Derek Jeter has advised the team to play as in union, and not be solely dependent on their star Aaron Judge. So everybody needs to bring their A-game if they want to win! Do you think game 3 will be favorable for the Yankees? Let us know!