ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Yankees second baseman did not need a microphone to answer Monday questions that followed him into Tuesday night.
One night after television cameras caught Jazz Chisholm Jr. smiling and joking with teammates during an ugly loss to the Los Angeles Angels, the infielder supplied a much different image.
He sent a 98.1 mph fastball over the left-field wall at Angel Stadium, helping the Yankees seize an immediate three-run lead in a 7-3 victory. Then, during the celebration that followed, Chisholm covered his mouth with his hand.
The gesture carried obvious symbolism after the previous night’s reaction, even though Chisholm did not publicly establish it as a response to his critics.
The contrast was difficult to miss.
Twenty-four hours earlier, the Yankees were being embarrassed by one of the American League’s worst teams. By the end of Monday’s 10-1 defeat, New York had committed three errors and allowed 12 hits while a seven-game Angels losing streak came to an abrupt end.
Chisholm’s demeanor during the blowout became part of the conversation surrounding the loss. The Yankees trailed 7-1 after six innings, and images of him appearing loose and joking in the dugout prompted criticism over whether the moment called for a more serious response.
On Tuesday, his response came at the plate with two runs, one homer, and two singles. And with a comic action.
A familiar debate follows Jazz Chisholm
Questions about Chisholm’s personality are hardly new.
His energy is one reason the Yankees have embraced him. It also makes him one of their most scrutinized players when things go badly.
Earlier this season, Chisholm drew attention for taking the field with a lollipop in his mouth. Manager Aaron Boone addressed it, and the episode quickly became another chapter in the constant discussion surrounding Chisholm’s flair.
His teammates have generally described that personality differently.
Chisholm said last month that keeping baseball loose has helped him through difficult stretches. He credited the Yankees clubhouse with helping him move past frustration and concentrate on other ways he can affect a game.
“It gets frustrating sometimes, but I have such great teammates in the clubhouse that I just keep my head on a swivel,” Chisholm said in August.
“I go and play defense the best that I can, go run the bases as best I can when I get on. It just reminds me of the talent I have and the things I’ve done before.”
That context makes Monday’s scene more complicated than a still image or short dugout clip.
Chisholm has repeatedly argued that playing loose is part of how he plays well. The Yankees have also benefited from the same aggressiveness and personality that sometimes make him an easy target when the team struggles.
Chisholm turns criticism into immediate Yankees response
The Yankees did not wait long to erase the mood from the series opener.
With two outs in the first inning, rookie Spencer Jones drove a Grayson Rodriguez pitch over the wall in right-center for a two-run homer. Chisholm followed immediately.
Rodriguez challenged him with a 98.1 mph four-seam fastball on a 2-2 count. Chisholm stayed on it and drove the ball the other way.
The fly ball carried 340 feet, according to MLB Statcast, and just cleared the left-field wall for Chisholm’s 19th home run of the season. The ball left his bat at 95.4 mph with a 25-degree launch angle.
Just like that, the Yankees led 3-0.
The home run was only the beginning. Chisholm finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI, raising his batting average to .232. It was his first three-hit game since the Yankees’ Aug. 30 blowout victory over Boston.
The production mattered more than any interpretation of what happened afterward.
Still, the visual was striking. After rounding the bases, Chisholm covered his mouth during the celebration. Coming less than a day after his dugout demeanor had generated criticism, the gesture looked like a player making his point without saying much at all.
Whether that interpretation was Chisholm’s intention remains unconfirmed.
Yankees get the version of Chisholm they need
Tuesday offered a cleaner argument.
Chisholm hit.
The Yankees won.
And his production came at a moment when New York needed to keep a disastrous series opener from becoming something more damaging.
Los Angeles trimmed the Yankees’ early 4-0 lead to 4-3 in the sixth inning, but New York’s bullpen prevented the game from flipping. The Yankees then scored twice in the eighth and once in the ninth to put it away.
Jones finished 2-for-3 with two walks, three RBIs, two runs and a stolen base. Cody Bellinger added three hits. Gerrit Cole allowed three runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings and earned the victory.
The result moved the Yankees to 79-60. They remained 4.5 games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East and maintained a four-game advantage over Boston for the top American League wild-card position.
For Chisholm, there was another layer.
He entered the series already at the center of a controversy after Red Sox broadcaster Will Flemming criticized him for stealing two bases with the Yankees leading Boston 7-1 on Sunday. Boone later revealed that he had instructed Chisholm to run. Flemming subsequently apologized for comments that went beyond criticizing the steals.
So Chisholm went from being criticized for playing too aggressively in one blowout, to being criticized for appearing too relaxed during another, all within roughly two days.
Tuesday supplied the simplest answer available to a player caught in that kind of debate.
A home run. Three hits. A Yankees win.
And then, for at least one conspicuous moment, a covered mouth.
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