Since walking into the visitors’ dugout at Boston’s Fenway Park on Sunday, Jazz Chisholm Jr. has created a memorable first impression for the New York Yankees.
After homering four times for his new team, Chisholm makes his home debut Friday night when the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays and attempt to run their winning streak to six games.
Chisholm was acquired Saturday from the Miami Marlins for three prospects and debuted in center field for Sunday’s 8-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. He played his first three career games at third base during a three-game sweep over the Philadelphia Phillies and posted consecutive multi-homer games while driving in eight runs in a 14-4 win on Monday and a 7-6, 12-inning victory on Tuesday.
“This is what I live for. I love the lights, I love the big crowds, it’s super exciting,” Chisholm said Tuesday of joining the Yankees. “I just feel like that complements my game, being in the lights, being in big moments.”
Chisholm is 7-for-19 (.368) with the Yankees after hitting .249 in 101 games with the Marlins this season. He had one hit in Wednesday’s 6-5 victory that featured a breakout day by struggling veteran DJ LeMahieu, who hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs.
The sweep in Philadelphia gave New York five straight wins for the first time since winning a season-high eight in a row May 29-June 6 as part of their 45-19 start. Before winning the past five games, the Yankees endured a 10-23 slide.
“Feels a little bit better, but we also know we’re a long way from where we want to be and the finish line,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
The Yankees will play 15 straight games against teams below .500, and the Blue Jays are coming off dropping three of four at Baltimore.
The Blue Jays are in the middle of playing 10 straight games against the Yankees and Orioles, and they ended their visit to Baltimore with a 10-4 loss on Wednesday. Addison Barger hit his first two career homers in the series, and Joey Loperfido went 1-for-5 in his Toronto debut on Wednesday after being acquired from the Houston Astros for Yusei Kikuchi.
George Springer had two hits and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Guerrero is batting .500 (26-for-52) during the longest streak by a Blue Jay this season.
“We’re not in the position that we would want to be as a team, as an organization right now, but there’s always a way to take some good from something,” Springer told reporters before Wednesday’s game. “There are a lot of guys that are going to get some valuable experience and, in my eyes, there’s no substitute for that.”
Toronto’s revised lineup will face Marcus Stroman (7-5, 3.64 ERA), who is 0-2 with a 5.64 ERA in his past five outings. Stroman allowed five runs (three earned) on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings in a no-decision before New York rallied for an 11-8 win in 10 innings in Boston on Saturday.
The right-hander has a 2.61 ERA in four career no-decisions against the Blue Jays, whom he pitched for from 2014-19.
The Blue Jays are slated to start Kevin Gausman (9-8, 4.44), who is 3-0 with a 3.57 ERA in his past three outings. Gausman last pitched Saturday when he went the distance in a 7-3 win over the Texas Rangers for his second complete game this season and third of his career. He allowed three runs on four hits.
Gausman is 10-9 with a 3.51 ERA in 34 career appearances (28 starts) against the Yankees. He is 0-2 with a 10.97 ERA in three starts against the Yankees this season.
–Field Level Media