Jazz Chisholm Jr. returned to what looks like a Yankees infield competition with a hit, a walk and a defensive mistake.
The second baseman was activated from the injured list for the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader and got the nod at second base after Anthony Volpe — who has played well at the spot in his absence — started the first game.
Chisholm’s most memorable moment, though, was failing to cover first base on a safety squeeze in the 6-1 loss in The Bronx that helped the Rays clinch the division.
With one out and runners on the corners in the seventh inning and Taylor Walls at the plate, manager Aaron Boone said the Yankees were aware that a bunt would be coming “more often than not.”
And sure enough, Walls pushed a bunt toward first base, and Luis García Jr. charged, as he was supposed to, Boone said.
Chisholm started to run over but stopped, believing García would halt his charge and return to the base. Chisholm instead hovered by second base.
“He’s just gotta go [to first base] every time, and he knows that,” Boone said of Chisholm, who acknowledged the mistake.
“Next time, I’ll just keep going through,” said Chisholm, who was sidelined for two weeks after spraining his right thumb Sept. 8 and has returned to a team sorting out its infield with five games to go before the postseason.
Asked before the doubleheader if Volpe would continue to get time at second with Chisholm back, Boone said, “We’ll see.”
Chisholm went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk, while Volpe went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in the 2-0 doubleheader opener. Entering play, Volpe had hit .286 with a .753 OPS in 10 games with Chisholm on the IL.
The Yankees also have to figure out third base, as Ryan McMahon is a mess on both sides of the ball.
José Caballero got the start there in the opener against Martinez and went 1-for-3 with a pair of stolen bases, with lefty-swinging McMahon in the lineup for the nightcap against Drew Rasmussen. McMahon went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and could not make a difficult play on a Nick Fortes chopper that reached McMahon on an in-between hop and went for an infield single.
Boone said he wanted to get “regular reps” for both Caballero and McMahon, who entered Tuesday just 6-for-40 with an OPS of .402 since returning from a sprained thumb Sept. 1.
Amed Rosario, signed in the offseason with the idea of playing third against lefties, has not produced in those situations this year, and the Yankees have mostly gone with Caballero and McMahon over the last three weeks.
To make room on the roster for Chisholm, Max Schuemann was optioned to the FCL Yankees.
Clarke Schmidt played catch Tuesday after experiencing cramping in his biceps while warming up during Sunday’s game against Arizona.
Boone said the team was awaiting word from doctors regarding the right-hander’s availability, but a source told The Post’s Joel Sherman that Schmidt still felt something in the area.
Another source said an IL stint isn’t out of the question as Schmidt is trying to earn a spot on the postseason roster after missing over a year following Tommy John surgery.
Ryan Weathers threw a bullpen session between games as he works to return from a left forearm strain, and Fernando Cruz (UCL) played catch.
The Yankees haven’t announced their playoff rotation, but Gerrit Cole has started the team’s first postseason game in every season in which he’s been healthy since he joined the organization in 2020.
The right-hander will start Wednesday and was asked by The Post how he would feel if Cam Schlittler got the start in the first game of a wild-card series this season.
“Fine by me,’’ said Cole, who had a similar reaction when there was discussion of having Nestor Cortes open the playoffs in 2022. “What matters is me trying to be my best. Whatever [Boone] thinks is good.”
Giancarlo Stanton jogged in the outfield between games Tuesday. Stanton suffered his third calf strain of the season, and first in his left leg, over four weeks ago, and there remains no guarantee he returns this season… The Yankees have won at least 90 games eight times in the last nine years in which there’s been a full season. … The Yankees lost both ABS challenges early in Game 1 on Tuesday, as Ali Sánchez had a poor challenge catching in the top of the first and Heliot Ramos followed with an even worse challenge at the plate in the bottom of the inning.
