Jazz Chisholm Jr. attributed the Yankees' recent turnaround while facing good teams to a belief that they are "the team to beat" in the American League.

Max Fried earned his major league-leading 17th win and Jazz Chisholm Jr. had three hits - including a solo homer that moved him to the brink of the 30-30 club - leading the New York Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

The New York Yankees were very active at the trade deadline, but some of their moves have turned out to be a disaster. Brian Cashman finally commented on them.

The Yankees wanted to make a statement in Boston. They now have a 2 1/2 game lead over their rival for the top wild-card spot.

This 13-minute Q & A during and after Yankees batting practice started and ended with an interrogation of Anthony Volpe, whose season-long hitting and fielding struggles now include a few days of rest to let the most recent cortisone shot on his injured left shoulder take effect.

Now, the Red Sox turn to Brayan Bello for a Saturday afternoon tilt. He's a big reason why Boston found success against New York this season. Bello logged 14 scoreless innings with just six hits and 13 strikeouts in his first two outings against the Bronx Bombers this season.

The Red Sox's 5-3 loss dropped them 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees for the top AL wild-card spot, with 13 regular-season games remaining.

The Blue Jays still are three games up for first in the AL East and they hold the tiebreaker of the second-place Yankees, but Chisolm is convinced his ballclub is the team to beat in the American League after getting to the World Series and losing last October.