Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. Exits with Apparent Arm Injury After HBP vs. Orioles
New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. left Saturday's home game against the Baltimore Orioles after being hit on the left forearm with a 97 mph pitch from left-hander Grant Wolfram.
Chisholm immediately walked to the dugout and was attended to by medical staff. José Caballero replaced Chisholm for the Yankees, who were up 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning at the time.
Chisholm also had a scary moment in the top of the fourth inning. Left fielder Cody Bellinger caught a pop fly and attempted to double up Gunnar Henderson at second base. The ball sailed over the leaping try of Chisholm, who then fell over a sliding Henderson. Both players were a little shaken up but stayed in the game.
Chisholm has been a bright spot for the Yankees this year, making the All-Star Game en route to hitting .244 (.816 OPS) with 31 home runs alongside 80 RBI. He's amassed those numbers despite missing a little over a month with a strained right oblique.
He's a fantastic power threat, especially as a middle infielder and in the bottom half of the lineup. His efforts help give the Yankees a deep lineup behind AL MVP candidate Aaron Judge. That depth has put New York into the playoffs, potentially as a No. 1 seed in the AL postseason bracket if they can leap the Toronto Blue Jays for the division crown.
In the event Chisholm has to miss time, Caballero is the prime candidate to take over for him. New York has one more regular season game at home against the Baltimore Orioles before the playoffs begin. If they win the division, then their playoff schedule starts on Saturday. If they qualify via the wild card, then the Yankees start their postseason on Tuesday.
New York would obviously want to skip a round and get home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs, but if Chisholm's injury lingers, then four more full days of rest could do wonders for him.
In the meantime, it's a waiting game for the Yankees, both on the injury and their seeding. A 6-1 win over Baltimore certainly helped, but the Yankees need Toronto to lose at least one of its last two regular-season games against the Tampa Bay Rays to get the division.
