The Yankees eliminated the Royals but Jazz Chisholm is making sure this is a heated rivalry that carries into next season.
The New York Yankees locker room was electric last night after the team secured their spot in the ALDS, defeating the Kansas City Royals 3-1 in the series. In a high-intensity matchup filled with emotion, standout pitching, and timely hitting, the Yankees managed to steal two games in Kansas City, ultimately closing out the series on their terms.
During the post-game celebration, Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm received playful boos from his teammates during a champagne-soaked interview with Meredith Marakovits.
Chisholm had ruffled feathers with Royals fans before even stepping foot in Kauffman Stadium. After Game 2 in New York, he remarked that the Royals “got lucky,” adding fuel to the fire. Kansas City’s 37,000-strong crowd didn’t forget, greeting him with resounding boos during Game 3 lineup introductions. In true Jazz Chisholm fashion, he responded with a grin and mouthed, “I love it.”
“It still feels the same — that we’re going to win it,” Chisholm said confidently after Game 2. “I don’t think anybody feels any different. We’re going to go out there and do our thing. We don’t feel like any team is better than us. We had a lot of missed opportunities tonight, so they just got lucky.”
With the series on the line, Game 4 took a dramatic turn in the bottom of the sixth inning when the Royals had Maikel Garcia on first base with no outs. Three pitches later, Michael Massey hit a grounder to first baseman Jon Berti, who initiated a slick double play with a throw to second, where Anthony Volpe tagged out Garcia.
After making the tag, Volpe gave Garcia a reassuring tap on the chest and back, but tensions quickly rose. Garcia, visibly frustrated, exchanged some heated words with Volpe. Chisholm, joining the fray, waved Garcia back to the dugout, signaling the play was over. What began as harmless banter escalated, leading to a brief bench-clearing incident, a move neither team wanted to happen.
Post-game, Chisholm shared his thoughts on the altercation: “I felt like he tried to go and injure Volpe because he was being a sore loser. He was talking a lot on Instagram and Twitter. I do the same thing, but I’m not going to try to hurt someone because they’re winning. I told him we don’t do that on this side, and I’m always going to stick up for my guys.”
Despite the tensions, the Yankees emerged victorious, and now await the winner of the Cleveland Guardians versus Detroit Tigers series, which is set to conclude in a decisive ALDS Game 5.
