NEW YORK — After the New York Yankees dropped Game 1 of the Wild Card Series to the Boston Red Sox, Jazz Chisholm Jr. drove home Tuesday night frustrated — not just by the loss, but by his absence from the lineup. Needing to clear his head, he retreated to his PlayStation 4 and fired up his favorite game, “MLB The Show.” He didn’t have a real-life impact in the Yankees’ first postseason game, so he needed to be the star virtually. He needed to get right for Game 2.
He played until 3 a.m. ET with a custom squad he made, the New York Aliens — a dream team that features himself along with Ken Griffey Jr., Jimmy Rollins and other legends. “It’s a cheat code,” Chisholm said. He estimated his online record is 65-5. He said most games don’t last long — the first three batters in his lineup usually go yard, and once the trash talk starts flowing, his opponents rage-quit before the cleanup hitter steps to the plate.
“People know they’re playing against me,” Chisholm said with a smile after walking, sprinting and diving his way to a much tighter win Wednesday, in real life, to keep the Yankees’ postseason alive.
There are few things Chisholm loves more than playing video games. One of the necessities he brought with him to spring training this year was his PS4, which he plays religiously. But his No. 1 passion is playing baseball. He considers himself a baseball historian. He loves it when Yankees legends visit camp because he gets to ask questions — any he can dream up — to players like CC Sabathia, Alex Rodriguez and Reggie Jackson. So when it seems like he isn’t contributing to his team, in a sport that he’s poured everything into, he’s going to feel slighted.
That’s what happened Tuesday when manager Aaron Boone did not start Chisholm. Analytically, Boone’s decision to play Amed Rosario made sense. The Yankees acquired Rosario at the trade deadline to hit tough lefties. The move didn’t work Tuesday, as Rosario did not get a hit off Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet. But regardless of the rationale, it still stung Chisholm, who became the third player in franchise history to join the 30-30 club, to watch from the dugout as the Yankees could not muster much offense.
Chisholm was in the lineup for Game 2 on Wednesday against righty Brayan Bello, and he was determined to make sure his impact was felt by the time the 27th out was recorded. It started in the third inning, playing second base. With one out and Alex Bregman up with runners on first and second, Chisholm ranged to his left, pivoted and made an accurate throw to shortstop Anthony Volpe off his back foot to turn a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. Boone called that play “special.” Chisholm made an even better play four innings later.
With the score tied in the seventh inning and runners on first and second, two outs and a full count, Chisholm possibly saved the Yankees’ season. Masataka Yoshida lined a single to Chisholm’s right, but he was able to keep the ball in the infield on a full-extension-diving stop. If Chisholm doesn’t make that play, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was convinced both runners would have scored. If that happened, the Yankees would have trailed 5-3.
“That was the game right there,” said Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz, who was on the mound at the time. “I think that was the play of the game. I want to make sure that it is mentioned — Jazz saved us the game.”
Cruz then worked himself out of a bases-loaded jam, and the Yankees remained tied at 3.
In the eighth inning, Chisholm worked a critical two-out, seven-pitch walk against Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock. Austin Wells called Chisholm’s at-bat “one of the best ones I’ve seen all year from him.” If Chisholm had been retired, the Yankees would have faced the prospect of scoring off Aroldis Chapman, the game’s best closer this season, in the ninth inning. But Chisholm’s walk kept the eighth inning alive and forced Whitlock to throw 15 more pitches in the inning. That increased his pitch count to 47 and could mean that Whitlock, Boston’s second-best reliever, is unavailable for Game 3, depending on how he bounces back with his treatment.
With Wells up facing a 3-2 pitch in the next at-bat, Chisholm was in motion. Wells lined a ball that landed just fair down the right-field line. There was no doubt in Chisholm’s mind that he was scoring. It took him 9.16 seconds to round the bases and slide head-first into home plate. It was the third-fastest time for a player scoring from first base in the postseason during the Statcast era (since 2015). After home plate umpire Scott Barry signaled Chisholm safe at the plate, the Yankees’ second baseman lay face first in the dirt for a few seconds to catch his breath.
“Going through my head, I am already running,” Chisholm said. “So any ball that an outfielder moves to his left or right, I have to score, in my head. That’s all I was thinking.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. JUST beat the tag #Postseason pic.twitter.com/YYGn1mUw8m
— MLB (@MLB) October 2, 2025
The Yankees are playing Game 3 against the Red Sox on Thursday because of Chisholm, his manager’s faith in him and Boone’s belief that his mindset would be right going into Game 2.
After the Yankees acquired Chisholm in a trade with the Miami Marlins last season, the first conversation he had with Boone was about the club wanting the All-Star to be himself, something he struggled with in Miami. Since then, the two have had some minor disagreements, such as when Chisholm played third base earlier in the year to accommodate DJ LeMahieu at second base. Chisholm made it known he didn’t agree with that decision.
But Boone and Chisholm are close. They have their own handshake and talk every day. That trust between them allowed Chisholm to play freely on Wednesday, knowing there was no lingering tension. And it saved their season — at least for one more night.
(Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images)
