Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning off Tim Herrin, lifting the visiting New York Yankees to a 3-2 win over the American League Central Division-leading Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night.
Chisholm led off the eighth with a towering, 360-foot drive to right field that landed deep in the lower bowl, delighting the sizable contingent of Yankees fans who were seated throughout the ballpark.
Camilo Doval (2-0) tossed the seventh for the victory and Fernando Cruz earned his first save of the season with 1 2/3 scoreless innings, making New York the first AL team to 40 wins.
Herrin (0-2) gave up one run in 1 1/3 innings for Cleveland, which lost for the fifth time in its last six games and dropped to 17-16 at home. The Guardians put two runners on with two outs in the eighth before Cruz induced a fly out by Jose Ramirez.
The Guardians scored twice in the third off Yankees starter Gerrit Cole to tie the game at 2, putting five straight on base with two outs. Chase DeLauter singled in Ramirez, then came home when Angel Martinez beat out a high chopper toward first.
DeLauter’s hit was Cleveland’s first with a runner in scoring position in three games.
Spencer Jones belted his first major league homer off Slade Cecconi in the second, scoring Chisholm to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. The 25th overall draft pick in 2022 made his debut on May 8.
Jones’ 443-foot drive to straight-away center occurred in his 14th game since being called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The two Yankees homers were the only extra-base hits in the game for either team.
Jones, Paul Goldschmidt and Ryan McMahon led the Yankees with two hits apiece.
Ramirez, Martinez and Kyle Manzardo each provided two knocks for Cleveland.
Cole exited after 83 pitches over four innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks, striking out four.
Cecconi worked five innings, allowing two runs on six hits in his second no-decision against New York in a six-day span. The righty tied his season high with seven strikeouts and walked two.
