Jazz Chisholm Jr. belted two home runs and drove in five runs as the New York Yankees (56-44) rallied for an 8-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night at Yankee Stadium. New York erupted for all eight of its runs over the first three innings, overcoming an early deficit after Ryan Weathers struggled to hold a four-run lead. The win gave the Yankees their second straight victory.
The Yankees capitalized on Pittsburgh’s sloppy defense to jump ahead in the first inning. Ben Rice scored after consecutive Pirates errors on what could have been an inning-ending play before Cody Bellinger singled to set the stage for Chisholm’s three-run blast into the right-center field seats. Pittsburgh answered with five runs over the next two innings, highlighted by rookie Esmerlyn Valdez’s two-run homer in the third, but Chisholm responded immediately. After a seven-pitch battle with Braxton Ashcraft, he hooked a two-run homer around the right-field foul pole to put New York back in front. Four straight hits followed, including Jose Caballero’s two-run double, stretching the lead to 8-5.
Weathers lasted 4.2 innings, allowing five runs before exiting after 99 pitches without factoring into the decision. Angel Chivilli earned the win with 1.1 innings of relief, while Brent Headrick and Tim Hill bridged the gap to Fernando Cruz, who struck out three of the four batters he faced to record his second save of the season.
The Yankees continue their three-game series against the Pirates on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Will Warren (7-4, 4.03 ERA) is scheduled to start for New York against Bubba Chandler (3-8, 4.77 ERA).
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.