Jazz Chisholm Jr. may be in his teammates’ pants for the foreseeable future.
Trying anything to snap out of the malaise he has been in for most of the early part of the season, Chisholm is once again wearing a pair of baggy, short pants — first Trent Grisham’s, then on Friday, Giancarlo Stanton’s — and the results, once again, have followed.
The struggling Chisholm put together one of his more encouraging games of late, recording a three-hit effort and having a hand in three of the Yankees’ five runs in a 5-2 win over the Mets on Friday night at Citi Field.
Chisholm also drew a walk and stole a base, reaching base four times for only the second time this season — though he ended his night on a down note, getting picked off at first base — as the Yankees bounced back from getting one-hit on Wednesday with a 10-hit night against the Mets.
“It’s something about the baggy pants,” Chisholm said, shaking his head.
After a brutal game on Monday night in Baltimore, when he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts — three of those at-bats coming with runners in scoring position, Chisholm sat out Tuesday’s game against Orioles lefty Trevor Rogers.
Then he came back on Wednesday, sporting the baggy pants that Grisham wears on occasion, and had the Yankees’ only hit of the game, a double.
Chisholm, naturally, followed suit on Friday, going 3-for-4 with a double, run and two RBIs. Except he couldn’t find Grisham’s pants, so he borrowed a pair of Stanton’s.
“We marked those No. 13,” Chisholm said of his number. “They ain’t his pants no more.”
Chisholm had worn Grisham’s baggy pants for a series earlier this season in Houston, when he went 5-for-12 across three games — looking like he might be turning the corner from his season-opening slump. But they only lasted a series, as he went back to his own pants and soon went cold again.
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Regardless of his fashion choices, getting Chisholm on track is critical to the Yankees’ success, and not just because he has 30-30 potential. He also represents the hinge to the bottom half of the lineup that has too often been a black hole, especially of late, including himself: the second baseman entered Friday batting just .203 with a .607 OPS through 43 games.
“Jazz is the guy,” said Cam Schlittler, who continued to dazzle with 6 ²/₃ dominant innings of one-run ball. “Regardless of the start of the season, he’s a great player. It’s good to see him go out there and get a few knocks.”
Chisholm’s biggest hit came in the third inning, after the Yankees had strung together three straight two-out hits to take a 1-0 lead, and he kept the line moving by smoking a double past the dive of first baseman Mark Vientos to make it a 3-0 game. He later drew a walk in the fifth and came around to score on Spencer Jones’ RBI single.
“I’m just going to keep the same mindset of trying to go out there and win and not worry about what I’m doing,” Chisholm said. “Just going to keep on trying to go help the team and win the game.”
