New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. believes his team made a big statement by taking the first two games of a weekend series with the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
"That we're the best team in the (American) League," Chisholm said following Saturday's 5-3 win that gave the Yankees their first series victory over the Red Sox this season, according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. "I feel like any team that thinks they're better than us, they should know when we step on the field that we're coming with relentlessness.
"We're coming to step on necks. We're not here to play around."
Chisholm went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs to move within one long ball of the first 30-30 season of his six-year career. The 27-year-old would be only the third player in Yankees history to accomplish the feat.
The two-time All-Star credited a recent "bonding session" outside the ballpark for helping him and his teammates get locked in.
"We had a team talk between all the boys," Chisholm said. "We were just talking about at-bats and stuff like that. The next day, things went good."
New York has gone an MLB-best 23-11 since Aug. 6 following a prolonged slump. The strong play has brought the Yankees to within three games of the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays while building a 2.5-game lead over the Red Sox for the AL's top wild-card spot.
The Yankees will look to right-hander Will Warren on Sunday to complete the sweep. The Red Sox are countering with ace Garrett Crochet.
