Jazz Chisholm Jr. had a message for the Royals following the Yankees‘ Game 2 loss
“They just got lucky,” said the Yankees third baseman.
The Bombers went 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position and are now heading to Kansas City with the best-of-five series tied at one game apiece. Despite the deflating loss, the 26-year-old feels nothing changed in the series dynamic.
“[The series] still feels the same, that we’re going to win it,” said Chisholm. “I don’t feel like anybody feels any different. We’re going to go out there and do our thing still. We still don’t feel like any team is better than us. We had a lot of missed opportunities tonight, so they just got lucky.”
The Bombers did register 15 hard-hit balls — according to Baseball Savant — with only seven hits to show for it. Chisholm provided the only thump in the lineup on Monday night as he blasted a solo shot to begin the bottom of the ninth with the Yankees down three.
“I mean, it could’ve been anybody [to spark the team], not just me,” said Chisholm. “Hard-hit balls that were getting caught out there, a couple of unlucky plays. [Giancarlo Stanton got robbed] on a diving play twice, Volpe, everybody had a diving play at a part of the game where we were trying to rally up.
“The game goes like that and we’re just going to come back and fight again on Wednesday.”
The 26-year-old was 1-for-4 with a homer and a strikeout on Monday, moving his series totals to 2-for-8. Wednesday presents another difficult challenge for the Yankees’ fluttering offense as Seth Lugo will take the ball in Game 3.
The right-hander posted a 3.00 ERA in 33 starts in the regular season. Chisholm has faced Lugo in 6 games throughout his career and is just 1-for-11.