Jazz Chisholm Jr. exits Yankees' loss with toe discomfort

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees' list of concerns, already long during an abysmal stretch riddled with injuries and losses, grew Sunday when second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. exited their 6-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins with right big toe discomfort.

The Yankees said X-rays on Chisholm's toe were negative. He will be re-evaluated Monday when the team opens a pivotal four-game series against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays on the road having lost nine of its last 10 games.

The toe discomfort is not new for Chisholm. He underwent surgery on the toe in 2023 while with the Miami Marlins. He explained pain comes and goes, but he said it intensified Sunday when he aggressively rounded first base after ripping a single to right field in the second inning.

One pitch later, Twins catcher Victor Caratini threw behind Chisholm at first base and caught him too far off the bag. A rundown ensued, ending with Chisholm making the final out of the inning. Chisholm said the toe discomfort prompted the caught stealing.

"My foot was hurting," Chisholm said. "So, that's why I tripped. I didn't lift."

Chisholm stayed in the game until the fifth inning when he flied out to right field. He gingerly jogged to first base and limped to the dugout where he had a brief conversation with manager Aaron Boone before he was pulled. The Yankees, down 4-0 at the time, had Amed Rosario enter the game to play third base and moved Jose Caballero from third base to second base.

The Yankees managed just three hits off Ryan, who logged seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts to one walk, and had just two runners reach scoring position as they dropped a home series against the Twins for the first time since 2014.

What was a three-game lead in the American League East over the Rays on June 24 has become a 4.5-game deficit in just 10 games. New York's pitching and defense have stumbled during the dismal stretch, but the offense's woes have fueled the downturn.

The Yankees have not scored more than five runs in a game since June 17. Their 49 hits over the last 10 games are tied for their fewest within any 10-game span in a season in franchise history, according to ESPN Insights. They have tallied five or fewer hits in six of those 10 games -- all against teams under .500. They finished their six-game homestand against the Detroit Tigers and Twins 1-5.

"We're in a little bit of a storm right now, and you can't run away from a storm," Yankees All-Star left fielder Cody Bellinger said. "It'll keep on chasing you. So you've got to take it head-on."

Avoiding another setback would help. It's been a disappointing individual year for Chisholm, a two-time All-Star who is batting .225 with a .703 OPS with free agency awaiting him this offseason.

But not having Chisholm, despite his struggles, would certainly hurt a scuffling offense that already has Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list for the foreseeable future.

"We've got to find a way to turn it around and get rid of the excuses of this guy's out, that guy's out," Boone said. "Other teams deal with that. It's part of a long season. We've got capable people, capable guys going out there and helping us win. But we've got to put it together as a group."