Jazz Chisholm Jr. was not in the starting lineup for the New York Yankees during Game 1 of their American League Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. Yankees manager Aaron Boone made the decision to use a right-handed batter instead of Chisholm, who bats left-handed, with Boston’s left-hander Garrett Crochet pitching.
Chisholm entered as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning but flew out with the bases loaded against Boston closer Aroldis Chapman. The Yankees lost 3-1 at home in the first game of the best-of-three postseason series.
After being benched and facing a tough loss, Chisholm shared his approach to moving past a difficult game. “I played MLB The Show and I mercy-ruled someone,” Chisholm said when asked how he prepared to help the Yankees even up the series with a 4-3 win on Wednesday night. “It’s true.”
Chisholm explained that he created his own team in the video game called “New York Aliens,” which included himself along with Ken Griffey Jr. and Jimmy Rollins. “We got me, Ken Griffey Jr. on it, Jimmy Rollins. We were playing online, having fun. It’s a lot of fun.” He added that he won by a wide margin: “The score was 12-1.”
This unconventional method helped him decompress after being sidelined and may have contributed to his readiness for Game 2.
