CLEVELAND (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. once again showed why he relishes being the opposing player fans love to hate.
The flashy second baseman quieted chants of “overrated” in Cleveland with a home run in the eighth inning that sent the New York Yankees to a 3-2 victory over the Guardians on Tuesday night.
“I love it. Kind of. I feel like that was the loudest chants all day we heard, so I think it was great,” Chisholm said.
Chisholm admitted the chants
got him a little too riled up in the fifth, when he overswung at a couple of pitches and struck out.
He fell behind 0-2 against reliever Tim Herrin leading off the eighth before laying off a couple of pitches and working a full count. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Chisholm got a slider in the upper corner of the strike zone and drove it 360 feet into the right-field stands to put the Yankees back on top.
It was Chisholm's fourth career go-ahead homer in the eighth inning or later and his first since 2022 with the Miami Marlins.
“I swung at the first pitch and realized that it was going to be tough to hit the slider on the outside corner. So I was just waiting on a ball to start right at me. I got one and handled it,” Chisholm said. “He’s a good pitcher and doesn’t really miss the spot. So for him to miss in that situation right there in that spot, it’s just like a huge sigh of relief.”
Chisholm waited until the towering drive landed in the seats before leaving the batter's box and beginning his trot around the bases. He celebrated rounding third near the Guardians' dugout as he heard mostly boos from Cleveland's supporters but some cheers from Yankees fans in attendance.
“You're still in that mode of getting after it, so that's what was going through my head at the time,” Chisholm said.
It also was the second consecutive home run Chisholm has hit with one of Aaron Judge's bats, which is slightly longer and weighs an ounce more than the bats he normally uses.
Chisholm said he went back to Judge's timber due to overswinging during his three earlier at-bats.
Chisholm is only 4 for 24 in June, but three of his hits have been home runs. The three homers in the last six games have also come after Cleveland radio play-by-play announcer Tom Hamilton made a quip about Chisholm's appearance on “The Tonight Show” despite struggling at the plate that generated some traction on social media.
“Pretty amazing he got on the Jimmy Fallon Show batting .239,” Hamilton said about Chisholm on June 2 when the Guardians were in New York.
It was one of Hamilton's classic one-liners that has made him a Hall of Fame announcer, but whenever the comment involves someone from New York, especially when they are wearing pinstripes, it tends to resonate.
That might also be why Yankees manager Aaron Boone might have had extra appreciation for Chisholm enjoying his trot around the bases.
“I love them, I really do. Those I like,” Boone said.
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