BOSTON – Somewhat remarkably considering their rich history, the Yankees have produced only three seasons of at least 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases. Nearly a quarter-century has passed since the last one, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. is poised to change that.
One day after swiping his 30th bag, Chisholm launched his 29th home run as part of a three-RBI performance, powering the Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Red Sox on Saturday at Fenway Park.
Bobby Bonds (1975) and Alfonso Soriano (2002, ’03) are the only previous Yankees to register a 30-30 season.
“It would mean a lot if we win the division with it – if I feel like I helped the team a lot and it helped us win,” Chisholm said after Friday's 4-1 win. “But if we don’t win the division with it, it wouldn’t mean as much.”
Chisholm legged out an RBI infield hit in the first inning, stroked an opposite-field single to drive in a run in the third and cleared the right-field wall in the fifth off Brayan Bello. The Yankees (83-65) kept pace with the Blue Jays (86-62) in the American League East race, remaining three games behind Toronto. New York pulled 2 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox (81-68) for the top seed in the Wild Card race.
Matched against Bello for the third time this season, Max Fried flipped the script, showcasing a little extra life on his fastball as he pitched into the sixth inning.
After navigating traffic in the first two frames with a heater that was clocked as high as 98.8 mph, Fried kept Boston off the board until the fifth, when Alex Bregman clanged a solo homer off the Pesky Pole in right field.
Three consecutive singles chased Fried in the sixth, with Connor Wong’s run-scoring hit halving New York’s lead. Luke Weaver extinguished the rally, roaring after striking out Ceddanne Rafaela and Romy Gonzalez to pin the potential tying run aboard.