The New York Yankees trailed the Washington Nationals by a run with one out in the ninth inning on Friday night. The bullpen had just given back a lead. The lineup had wasted chances all night, collecting 10 hits but going hitless in six at-bats with men in scoring position. Another loss felt inevitable.
Then Jazz Chisholm Jr. stepped to the plate, got a sweeper over the middle, and drove it out to the second level at Nationals Park to give the Yankees the lead.
It was the kind of swing that changes the energy of a clubhouse.
Jazz Delivers Statement for the Yankees
Before Thursday’s game against the Rays, Chisholm addressed the team in a pregame hitters meeting. Several teammates confirmed he was the one who spoke up. His message was direct.
“I just feel like we got to be more together,” Chisholm said. “I feel like we’re losing ourselves and we’re splitting further and further apart. And I just feel like when we’re together, we’re unstoppable. Every time we go on a crazy run, it’s because we’re always together and having fun together as a team.”
Chisholm was not just talking about at-bats or approach. He was talking about the fabric of the team. The connection between players. The energy that had disappeared during a stretch where the Yankees went 2-11.
“I felt like we just had to tighten up and be for each other instead of being for ourselves,” Chisholm said. “I’m the biggest advocate of loving my own stats, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t mind rolling over to second base to move the runner over from second with no outs.”
He explained why it had gotten to that point. Everyone was struggling at the same time, and the natural response was for each player to try to be the one who broke the team out of it individually. That instinct made things worse.
“Instead of trying to be the home run every at-bat, let’s move them over,” Chisholm said. “Let’s bunt him over. Let’s get that sac in.”
The Yankees won 12-3 on Thursday. Then Chisholm backed up his words with the biggest swing of the night on Friday.
GettyWASHINGTON, DC – JULY 10: Jazz Chisholm Jr. #13 of the New York Yankees celebrates while rounding the bases after hitting a two run home run against the Washington Nationals during the ninth inning at Nationals Park on July 10, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
His Teammates Called It
Chisholm did not have his best game on Friday before the ninth inning. He had nothing to show for his earlier at-bats. But something happened in the dugout that mattered.
“I felt like I wasn’t having a great game, and my teammates came up to me and said, ‘You’re going to be the guy today,’” Chisholm said. “From my third at-bat, they were telling me that. And I trusted them, and I just kept going up there and competing every at-bat, and the result came out with a homer in the ninth inning.”
The players around him did not let him disappear into a bad night. They pushed him. He trusted them. And then he delivered.
“When we all come together, the energy is just outstanding and we’re all electric together,” Chisholm said.
Final Word for the Yankees
Jazz Chisholm told his teammates they were splitting apart. Then he helped bring them back together.
The pregame speech on Thursday was the statement. The ninth-inning homer on Friday was the proof. Both mattered, and the Yankees needed both.
Back-to-back wins. The All-Star break is close, and for the first time in weeks, the Yankees are heading into it with something to build on.
Chisholm said it best. When they are together, they are unstoppable.
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