July 11, 2026

Yankees Rally Late, But Jazz Chisholm’s Postgame Comments Steal the Show

Yankees

Yankees Rally Late, But Jazz Chisholm’s Postgame Comments Steal the Show

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The Yankees were three outs away from turning another winnable game into another sloppy loss. Then Jazz Chisholm Jr. changed the night with one swing—and said something after the game that may have been even louder than the home run.

New York rallied for three runs in the ninth inning Friday night, beating the Washington Nationals 5-3 at Nationals Park and improving to 52-42.

It was not clean. It was not comfortable. The Yankees struck out 11 times, committed three errors and watched a 2-1 lead disappear when Tim Hill allowed back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning.

But they finally responded instead of folding.

Jazz Chisholm Saves the Yankees in the Ninth

The Yankees entered the ninth trailing 3-2 after Keibert Ruiz and James Wood took Hill deep on consecutive pitches.

Washington called on former Yankees left-hander Matt Krook to protect the lead. After Cody Bellinger grounded out, Jasson Domínguez lined a single into center field.

That brought Chisholm to the plate.

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Jazz got a 1-0 pitch over the plate and drove it into the right-field seats for a two-run homer, giving the Yankees a 4-3 lead. It was his 13th home run of the season and easily his biggest swing in weeks.

“I was just looking for my pitch, and I got it. I connected well.”

Chisholm admitted he was not even sure the ball was leaving the park.

“I thought I missed it. I’m not going to lie. I thought I hit it too high again. I’m just happy that it kept going.”


Austin Wells followed with a solo home run off Justin Lawrence, giving the Yankees an important insurance run and completing a three-run ninth.

For Wells, it was only his sixth homer of the season. His offensive numbers remain ugly, but nobody in that clubhouse was complaining about when this one arrived.

The Yankees Lived and Died by the Home Run

All five Yankees runs came from four home runs.

Ben Rice opened the scoring in the first inning with his 29th homer of the season. Rice continues to be one of the few consistent power threats in this lineup, driving in his 66th run of the year.

Domínguez broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth, hitting his fifth homer of the season after Bellinger was caught stealing. He later started the ninth-inning rally with the single ahead of Chisholm.

That is two hits, two runs and one home run for Domínguez.

The Yankees finished with 13 hits, but they still had trouble turning traffic into runs without hitting the ball over the fence. Paul Goldschmidt, Bellinger and Jose Caballero each collected two hits, yet the Yankees were held scoreless from the fifth through the eighth.

Goldschmidt’s first-inning single did end an 0-for-34 drought. He added another infield hit in the sixth, so maybe the veteran can finally begin working his way out of one of the worst slumps of his career.

Ryan Weathers Deserved Better

Ryan Weathers gave the Yankees exactly what they needed from their starting pitcher.

The left-hander allowed one earned run over 5 1/3 innings, striking out six without issuing a walk. Washington collected six hits against him, but Weathers consistently kept the game under control.

His biggest problem was the defense behind him.

Amed Rosario struck out in both of his plate appearances and committed two errors at third base before Aaron Boone finally removed him for a pinch-hitter in the fifth.

It was a complete disaster of a game for Rosario.

The Nationals threatened again in the sixth after CJ Abrams doubled and Jacob Young singled. Fernando Cruz replaced Weathers with runners at the corners and only one out.

Cruz struck out Daylen Lile and Jorbit Vivas to escape the inning.

That was one of the biggest moments of the game. Washington had a chance to grab control, and Cruz shut the door before the lineup eventually woke up.

David Bednar handled the final two innings, retiring all six batters he faced and earning the victory. Bednar needed 27 pitches and did not allow a hit or walk.

Jazz Said the Quiet Part Out Loud

The home run won the game, but Chisholm’s postgame comments deserve attention.

Jazz revealed that he recently spoke during a hitters’ meeting because he felt the Yankees were becoming separated and trying to solve everything individually.

“I just feel like we’ve got to be more together. I feel like we’re losing ourselves and we’re splitting further and further apart.”

That is not normal postgame filler.

When one of your players publicly says the team was splitting apart, people should listen. It also explains what Yankees fans have been watching during this recent stretch: hitters pressing, trying to hit a five-run homer with nobody on base and carrying bad at-bats into the field.

Chisholm continued:

“Sometimes we fall into that hole of, ‘I’ve got to do it. I’ve got to do it,’ instead of, ‘How about I just do this, and that should help the team enough?’ Instead of trying to be the home run every at-bat, let’s move them over.”

That sounds basic because it is basic.

Move the runner. Take the walk. Make the productive out. Trust the next hitter. Stop walking to the plate believing every individual at-bat has to rescue the entire season.

The funny part is that Jazz ended up being the guy who rescued them with a home run anyway.

His teammates apparently told him throughout the game that his moment was coming.

“My teammates came up to me and said, ‘You’re going to be the guy today.’ I trusted them, kept going up there and competing every at-bat, and the result came out with a homer in the ninth inning.”

Maybe this becomes the type of win that finally brings some life back into the clubhouse.

The Yankees are still four games behind Tampa Bay in the American League East. One comeback against Washington does not erase the defensive mistakes, the strikeouts or the stretches of dead offense.

But for one night, they were punched in the mouth late and answered back.

Jazz Chisholm delivered the swing.

Then he delivered the message.

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Felix Pantaleón

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Born in Manhattan, New York, Felix Pantaleon is a Dominican-American digital content creator and the founder of NYYNEWS, one of the first and longest-running independent New York Yankees content creator platforms, active since 2005.

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