The Yankees couldn’t finish the sweep against the White Sox on Thursday, dropping the series finale 5-1 at home. That was bad enough. But the real concern came in the fourth inning, when Jazz Chisholm Jr. took a foul ball right off the ground and into his groin area. He left the game pretty quickly after that.
Aaron Boone didn’t have much to offer afterward. “I’m hoping he is okay,” the Yankees manager said, per Gary Phillips of NY Daily News Sports. “I haven’t heard anything yet.” So no real clarity on whether the two-time All-Star second baseman will need time off or if he dodged something worse.
Anthony Volpe came in to replace Chisholm and went 1-for-1 with a walk, which is nice but not exactly the same as having a guy who can play multiple positions and run the bases. The Yankees were still in this thing until the top of the eighth, when Andrew Benintendi — remember him? — crushed a grand slam off Camilo Doval. It was Benintendi’s fourth career grand slam, and he’s done it before at Yankee Stadium wearing a Red Sox or Yankees uniform. He knows the place.
Injury pileup is getting real for New York
Ryan Weathers gave the Yanks six-plus innings of one-run ball, which should have been enough to win a game against the worst team in baseball. But the bullpen couldn’t hold, and now Chisholm’s status is another name on a list that already includes Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Trent Grisham. All three are dealing with injuries. Judge is the biggest concern obviously, but losing Chisholm for any stretch would sting too. He’s been a spark since coming over from the Marlins.
The Yankees still sit atop the AL East at 45-28, which is a solid record. But that margin gets thinner fast if they can’t get healthy. The team hasn’t said anything official about Chisholm’s condition beyond Boone’s postgame non-answer. So for now, it’s a waiting game.
Fans online had the predictable reaction — a mix of jokes about the location of the hit and genuine worry about the lineup depth. Nobody wants to see a guy take a baseball to the groin, especially not one who’s been playing well. The Yankees have Thursday off before a weekend series. They could really use some good news by then.
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