Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. delivers blunt Astros message after win

Douglas Santo

Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. delivers blunt Astros message after win image

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros and New York Yankees have developed quite an intense rivalry over the last eight years. The two teams have met in the playoffs three times in the last seven years, and the Astros have won every time.

However, the regular season has been a different story. The Yankees have the upper-hand in the rivalry during the regular season and that trend continued on Tuesday night.

The Astros and Yankees met for the start of their second and final series of the regular season on Tuesday night and New York came away with a rather easy 7-1 win. Second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. started the scoring and ended it, and outfielder Trent Grisham put the game out of reach with a grand slam.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. Sends Playoff Message

Chisholm led the charge for the Yankees going 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI and a stolen base. After the game, he talked with reporters about the importance of the game.

"This is what we’ve got to do," Chisholm said (h/t The Athletic). "These are the guys that we’re probably going to play in the playoffs. We’ve got to go out there and dominate early, often and consistently."

The Yankees are currently 1.5 games ahead of the Astros in the American League standings. However, the Astros lead their AL West division by three games over the Seattle Mariners and the Yankees are 2.5 games back in the AL East, behind the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Yankees hold the top wild card spot, but New York will continue to push for the division down the stretch.

As for Chisholm, his second-inning home run was his 500th career hit, and it gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead early on Tuesday night.

Chisholm applauded the scouting reports he's been getting before his at-bats from Grisham, Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice. The Yankees' second baseman credited it for his home run. 

"They really do give like perfect scouting reports," Chisholm said. "The first home run was more of just, 'You push him up, and take your normal swing,' and you're going to hit a homer to right field."

That's exactly was Chisholm did. That opened the scoring and Grisham ballooned the Yankees' lead to 6-0 with a grand slam in the fifth inning, and Chisholm struck again in the eighth inning, leading the Yankees to the win.

The Astros and Yankees will play the second of three games against each other on Wednesday night.

Douglas Santo

Douglas Santo is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. As a senior at Arizona State University, he will complete his B.A. in sports journalism with a minor in business in December 2025. Before his time with Sporting News, Douglas covered the NFL and MLB for Athlon Sports and contributed as a digital reporter for Arizona PBS/Cronkite News. He is also the head of Sun Devil Daily, managing all content produced about Arizona State Sports.