Anthony Rizzo bailed out Yankees in bleakest of moments

Jazz Chisholm Jr. had just danced a little too far off second base, rather inexplicably, which is something you might be able to get away with in the middle of May in Miami in front of 4,705 people at loanDepot Park, second game of a four-game series with the Rockies. 

It is not something you should ever dare to do in the middle of October in The Bronx in front of 47,054 people at Yankee Stadium, second game of the American League Championship Series against the Guardians. 

The Yankees led, but there was palpable tension in the frosty air now. Cleveland had spotted the Yankees a 3-0 lead because Brayan Rocchio had an ill-timed Luis Castillo moment wrestling with a pop fly, and because Alex Verdugo’s autumnal renaissance had continued. 

But the Guardians had snuck back to 3-2 after chasing Gerrit Cole in the fifth, and the Yankees were lucky it wasn’t more for all the basepath traffic Cole had allowed. They were determined to keep the Yankees stuck on 3. Good Jazz had led off the inning with a double in front of a walk to Anthony Volpe. Bad Jazz had gotten picked off. 

Now here came Anthony Rizzo. 

Monday, the Yankees had grabbed Game 1 of this ALCS by the lapels when one of the players on the roster who owns a World Series ring — Juan Soto, 2019 Nats — had drilled a ball through a stiff, swirling wind for an early 1-0 lead. Now here came Rizzo, the only other Bomber with a bauble, earned in 2016 with the Cubs. 

It had already been an emotional couple of days for Rizzo, who’d fought hard to come back in just 16 days from a pair of fractured fingers on his right hand, and lobbied hard to be included among the Yankees’ 26-man roster. In the first game he’d singled in three at-bats and was spared an error by a generous ruling from the official scorer. 

He’d been removed late in the game when Yankees manager Aaron Boone had thought he looked “physically and emotionally spent,” but he sure seemed thrilled to be back in the game, as you would expect from a 35-year-old who’s a lot closer to the end of his career than the beginning. 

Follow The Post’s coverage of the Yankees in the postseason:

• Aaron Judge finally has his postseason moment as Yankees take control of ALCS
• Aaron Judge sends Yankee Stadium into a frenzy with drought-busting homer
• Guardians make disrespectful Aaron Judge decision — and he can’t make them pay

“This is what you play for,” Rizzo had said Monday. “The clock is only ticking on my age and getting older. You just never know when you’re going to have an opportunity to play for a pennant again, ever again. You can’t take any of this for granted.” 

He’d been right in the thick of the Yankees’ second-inning rally, drilling a base hit off Guardians starter Tanner Bibee that had set the Yankees up at the corners in what became a two-run inning (and had sent Tanner buh-bye). But now, with Chisholm hanging his head as he trotted back to the bench, the momentum had shifted to the other dugout. 

There was actually a murmur of nervousness hanging over the Stadium. 

And then, in a flash, that restlessness became a roar. Rizzo smoked a line drive off Cleveland lefty Erik Sabrowski that ticked off Josh Naylor’s glove at first and spun behind him. When right fielder Will Brennan couldn’t field it cleanly, Volpe came careening around third to score the Yankees’ fourth run. 

A sense of order was restored. The Yankees would go on to win 6-3, and Aaron Judge’s power was finally coaxed out of mothballs later as he sent an all-is-well blast soaring over the right-center field wall in the seventh. By then, the murmuring had been muted. The swagger had returned both to the dugout and the grandstand. 

The Yankees would be flying to Cleveland in complete command of this series, needing only to win two out of three there — something they’ve done against all five members of the AL Central in their sleep for years — to make it back to the World Series for the first time in 15 years. 

At the least, they force the Guardians to win four out of the next five games now, and if you’ve watched this series, if you’ve paid attention, it’s hard to fathom how that could possibly happen. 

“This is what you train for,” Rizzo said. “This is what you play for. To be on the bench, it’s more stressful than playing. It’s really hard to control your emotions on the bench than it is when you play.” 

Playing is always better. His double Tuesday night was the 18th extra-base hit of his postseason career. If the clock is truly ticking, he’s going to make the most of every moment.