NEW YORK — The seventh inning turned into Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s nightmare Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. His defensive miscue opened the door for the Toronto Blue Jays in a crushing 5-2 loss that ended the Yankees’ season and sent Toronto to the American League Championship Series.
Only a night earlier, Chisholm had been the hero with a go-ahead home run that kept the Yankees alive. Twenty-four hours later, he became the center of heartbreak. The second baseman’s costly error on what should have been an inning-ending double play allowed two unearned runs to score. Those runs decided an elimination game the Yankees could not afford to lose.
For the fans in the Bronx, it was another bitter October disappointment. The Yankees again faltered defensively at the worst possible time, continuing a trend that has haunted them in recent postseasons.
When the season slipped away
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Yankees trailed 2-1 entering the seventh inning. Rookie right-hander Cam Schlittler had given New York 6 1/3 strong innings. He was running on fumes but had kept the team within striking distance.
Ernie Clement began the inning with a single to right. One out later, Andres Gimenez hit a sharp ground ball directly at Chisholm. He was positioned perfectly to start a double play that could have ended the inning and preserved the one-run deficit.
What happened next will haunt the Yankees all winter.
The ball hit off the heel of Chisholm’s glove and rolled into center field. Instead of ending the inning, the Blue Jays had runners on first and third with just one out.
Fox analyst John Smoltz, calling the game on television, suggested the ball “exploded” off the edge of the grass, making the play difficult. But that explanation did little to soften the blow of a routine play that major league infielders are expected to make.
The error ended Schlittler’s night. Manager Aaron Boone went to his closer, Devin Williams, hoping to limit the damage.
The damage gets done
Williams struck out George Springer for the second out. But Nathan Lukes, a career minor leaguer who had spent years waiting for this kind of moment, came through when it mattered most. His two-run single to left field gave Toronto a 4-1 lead and silenced Yankee Stadium.
Those runs went into the scorebook as unearned, charged to Chisholm’s error.
The Yankees never recovered. The lineup produced just four hits against Toronto’s deep bullpen, which used eight relievers to navigate the night. The Blue Jays added one more run later to make it 5-2, sealing New York’s fate.
The other missed opportunity
Chisholm’s struggles weren’t limited to the field. His bat also failed in a key moment.
In the sixth inning, the Yankees had their first real chance to change the game. Aaron Judge stood on second and Giancarlo Stanton was on first. Chisholm stepped to the plate with one out.
A base hit would have tied the game. Instead, he grounded the second pitch straight to Clement at second base, who started a quick double play that ended the inning and stranded both runners.
That moment hurt almost as much as the error. Chisholm finished 0-for-3 with a walk. His only time on base came in the eighth inning when he drew a free pass, but the game was already slipping away.
A season that ends in regret
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
After the game, Chisholm faced the media and didn’t shy away from the responsibility.
“Didn’t think it was going to play the way it played,” Chisholm said. “Been thinking about that since the play happened. Still thinking about it now. At the end of the day, we got to move on eventually. I got three months to move on now.”
“I’m probably going to be thinking about this when the season starts next year.”
Those three months will feel like an eternity for Chisholm. That play will replay in his mind countless times through the offseason.
His postseason numbers reflect his struggles. In seven playoff games, he collected just four hits and finished with a .182 batting average. One of those hits was the game-winning homer in Game 3 that gave the Yankees life. But after Wednesday night, that moment already feels distant.
A troubling pattern in Chisholm
The defensive collapse was painfully familiar for Yankees fans. Last October, poor defense cost them dearly against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Errors in Game 5 handed the Dodgers the title.
This latest defeat showed that the Yankees’ October problem still hasn’t been solved. Under pressure, the defense continues to falter.
Chisholm was not the only culprit in the series, but his mistake came at the most critical moment in the most important game. That single play will define his first postseason run in pinstripes.
The Yankees now face an offseason full of difficult questions. How can they fix a team that repeatedly crumbles in elimination games? Why does their defense fall apart when it matters most?
A career year ends badly
The cruel twist for Chisholm is that 2025 was his best season yet. He earned his first All-Star selection, hitting 31 home runs and stealing 31 bases. He showed versatility, moving from second base to third when the Yankees needed it and back again without complaint.
But none of that will be remembered now. His entire season will be reduced to one play — a ground ball that should have ended an inning and instead became a nightmare.
As the Blue Jays celebrated on the Yankees’ home field, champagne sprayed in the visitors’ clubhouse. Across the hall, Chisholm sat quietly at his locker, staring at the floor. The seventh inning replayed in his mind, over and over.
The Yankees’ season is over. Jazz Chisholm’s long winter has just begun.
