The Yankees know there is no way to replace Aaron Judge; it’s impossible to subtract a three-time Most Valuable Player and not feel the effects. But even if their rallies look a bit different, they still believe they have enough to win games. Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked, stole second base, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Ryan McMahon’s tiebreaking single through the right side, a sequence that proved to be the difference in a 2-1 victory over the Guardians on Thursday at Yankee Stadium. “You’re always going to miss Aaron Judge, but it’s on us. We’ve got to hold it down,” McMahon said. “We’ve got to find ways to win ballgames, and we might be doing some more stuff like that.” Judge missed the Cleveland series to undergo testing on his ailing right shoulder and rib cage, which revealed a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side. He will be sidelined for at least four to six weeks before being reevaluated. “He’s the best hitter in the sport, so you know there’s a void there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But we also have really good players that can pick it up, too. I love the way we played the game today, but you’re not replacing Aaron Judge.” Instead, Chisholm’s fourth-inning sacrifice fly facing Slade Cecconi and the seventh-inning push against reliever Codi Heuer got it done. Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Chisholm all stole bases in the win; the Yankees have leaned into their speed, swiping 10 bags over their last four games. “It kind of sucks not having a three-time MVP in your lineup,” Chisholm said. “At the same time, we all know that we can’t use it as an excuse out there. We’re all baseball players, and we’ve got to go out there and win a game.” They did on Thursday, thanks in large part to Carlos Rodón, who struck out seven over six efficient innings of one-run ball. “I’m happy with the swing-and-miss,” Rodón said. “Getting ahead is the No. 1 thing, and just trying to get outs. The strikeouts come. The goal is to go out there and get as many zeroes up on the board for our team, and let the boys go out there and bang.” There wasn’t too much of that; just five hits in all for New York, which relied more on baserunning and situational at-bats. But Rodón made it work, permitting just two hits -- including Stuart Fairchild’s run-scoring single in the fourth -- while walking three. “He was out there with his swagger,” Chisholm said.
