TORONTO — After floating the idea Saturday night of shaking up his lineup to find some offense, the most notable change Aaron Boone ended up making was sitting Jazz Chisholm Jr. for José Caballero.
And while Boone said Sunday morning that he expected Chisholm “to be back in there regularly” at second base moving forward, Caballero at least gave him something to think about on Monday’s off day.
Making only his second start since George Lombard Jr. was called up on Aug. 4, Caballero provided a lift for a slumping offense, scoring a run and then driving in another as the Yankees beat the Blue Jays 4-3 in 10 innings at Rogers Centre.
“Certainly hoping for [a spark], and he was good,” Boone said. “Obviously good defense, but a big hit for us, a big walk, a [steal] to set up the first run, drove in the next run. … A lot of really good things by him and a big difference in the game today.”
The Orioles are in line to throw three righty starters against the Yankees in the series that begins Tuesday at Camden Yards, making it possible that Boone will in fact go right back to Chisholm at second base.
The pending free agent is in the midst of a rough season, finishing Sunday batting just .216 with a .683 OPS, though he did hit a single in the ninth inning and stole a bag after entering the game as a pinch runner in the seventh.
But Caballero, who has shown he can be effective in spurts, did it again Sunday.
Leading off the third inning against Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease, Caballero drew a four-pitch walk that began with him using back-to-back challenges to turn two called strikes into two balls.
He then took second on a groundout, swiped third for his 30th steal of the season and came home to score on Luis García Jr.’s sacrifice fly for the 1-0 lead.
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“I always try to help my team in any way possible and see any opportunity that is out there to take advantage of,” Caballero said. “I was able to take third base on him and make it easier for my teammate behind me to drive me in.”
In a 1-1 game in the seventh, with two outs and runners on first and second against lefty reliever Brendon Little, Caballero roped a single to left field that scored Lombard for the 2-1 lead.
It initially appeared like another run might score on the play, as Caballero got in a pickle between first and second that went on long enough for the pinch-running Chisholm to score, but replay review showed Caballero got brushed with a tag during a drop and roll before Chisholm crossed the plate.
“I already messed it up — I think I decided to go to second a little late, so in my head, I was like, ‘Let me stay in the rundown, maybe I can get an extra run out of it,’ ” Caballero said. “That was the plan after I got caught in between. I tried my best, and it almost worked out, but it didn’t.”
