Timing’s just right for Yankees as Jazz Chisholm and Devin Williams return to familiar roles

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NEW YORK – Jazz Chisholm Jr. knows how to make an entrance. When he joined the Yankees in a trade last July, he homered four times in his first four games, all victories. He opened this season with three homers in a three-game sweep. He had high hopes for Tuesday, his first game back from an oblique strain.

“Honestly, I pictured a 3-for-3,” Chisholm said after a do-it-all performance to beat the Cleveland Guardians. “But I’ll take a 2-for-3.”

Chisholm used his speed, power and defense in a 3-2 win at Yankee Stadium behind seven dominant innings from Carlos Rodón.

Back at third base for the first time since the World Series, Chisholm ranged across the line for a backhanded stab in the third, firing on a hop to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt for the out. He singled in the fifth and scored from second on a single by DJ LeMahieu. Then he ambushed Tanner Bibee for the go-ahead homer on the first pitch of the bottom of the seventh.

“You just see all the things he can do on the diamond,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Really exciting to have him back and good to see that kind of impact right away.”

Chisholm cooled off quickly after the opening series against Milwaukee; he hit .151 in April before his injury in Baltimore. He played second base then, with Oswaldo Cabrera at third. But now that Cabrera is hurt and LeMahieu is back at second – third base it is.

Chisholm doesn’t hit like Boston’s Rafael Devers, but he’s a lot more open to position changes. In Miami, Chisholm noted, he switched to center field after three years in the middle infield. When the Marlins dealt him to the Yankees, he tried third base for the first time.

Now he’s back, and it’s no big deal. Chisholm said he uses the same 11-inch glove wherever he plays in the infield.

“I really thought I was done at third base, not going to lie to you,” Chisholm said. “I didn’t think I was going to see it. I thought I left my career over there with a good stamp, you know? But I guess we’re back again, we’ve got to shine again. We can’t let that reputation go down at third base.”

Chisholm wasn’t the only Yankee on the move. When Luke Weaver popped a hamstring after warming up at Dodger Stadium on Sunday night – “I was very blindsided by the fact that happened,” he said – it put Devin Williams back in the closer’s role on Tuesday.

It also shoved Gary Wright off the Yankee Stadium playlist; the ’70s Yacht Rocker (“Dream Weaver”) sat this one out, and rapper Key Glock guided Williams to the mound for the save opportunity. He nearly didn’t get them through the ninth, giving up a two-out run before Bo Naylor flied to left to end the game.

Even so, Williams has mostly recovered from a ghastly start that forced Boone to reinstall Weaver as the closer. In 16 appearances since April 28, Williams has a 3.68 ERA, with 21 strikeouts in 14 ⅔ innings. Not dazzling, but encouraging enough.

“I’m in a routine now,” Williams said. “I was still figuring it out at the beginning of the year. It’s a big adjustment to make, just in life. Getting to the field every day was like, you’ve got to figure out when you’ve got to leave – what time do I need to leave to be there when I want to be there? Things like that. I’m in a good rhythm right now.”

Sometimes it takes a while. Sometimes it works right away. For Chisholm and Williams, the timing intersected just right on Tuesday.

(Photo: Evan Yu / MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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