NEW YORK – Jazz Chisholm Jr. stood at first base in the seventh inning of the Yankees’ 6-5 win Saturday night, read the game in front of him and calculated whether there was a chance for him to swipe second.

He represented the winning run in the Yankees’ see-saw match with the Kansas City Royals in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. Reaching the scoring position was of utmost importance.

Finally, with Anthony Volpe in a full count against Michael Lorenzen, Chisholm let first base coach Travis Chapman know it was time.

“Hey, maybe I’ll go here,” Chisholm told Chapman. “Maybe he’s burying one now.”

Sure enough, Chisholm charged into second as Lorenzen buried a sweeper in the mud to eliminate Volpe. He made a bad jump, but Royals catcher Salvador Pérez’s throw sailed away, forcing second baseman Michael Massey to jump to make the catch before applying an acrobatic flick.

Chisholm’s left foot just beat Massey’s glove – as judged by second base referee Lance Barrett. The Royals disputed the call.

One replay angle showed Massey’s glove had struck Chisholm’s foot with a small space between him and the bag, creating a tense pause in the action. But the call kept the scoring threat alive.

Two batters later, Alex Verdugo capitalized and lined a shot to left field to score speedy Chisholm, who nearly collided with umpire Adam Hamari after crossing the plate to give the Yankees the lead for good.

“I knew I was in there,” Chisholm said of the blasting play at second base. “That’s actually what we were talking about at second base. (Massey) said, ‘I made a good hit.’ I said, ‘You made a good tag. That doesn’t mean I’m out.'”

Royals manager Matt Quatraro saw it differently after watching the postgame.

“I have not received any explanation,” Quatraro said. “In my opinion, I thought we had a very good argument to overturn that.”

From there, Tommy Kahnle and Luke Weaver combined to keep Kansas City scoreless through the final two innings. Weaver recorded the last four outs, three via strikeout. One drew more scorn from the Royals dugout: After falling behind 3-0 to Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., Weaver worked his way back to a full count. Finally, on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, he struck out Witt on a fastball that Witt thought was too low.

Instead of a walk and Witt, perhaps the fastest player in the Majors, at first base to wreak havoc, the Royals were on their way to their final out.

Chisholm reaching base in the seventh inning with a leadoff single changed the game. His performance on the basepaths – both stealing and scoring easily from second base to give the Yankees the lead – was one of the reasons New York acquired him from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline.

Yes, he has the pop and a swing from the left side, seemingly made for Yankee Stadium’s short porch in right field. Yes, his positional versatility is a plus; he showed up and became the team’s third baseman after never playing the position. And yes, he has two more years of team control before hitting free agency.

But the Yankees, outside of Volpe, lacked speed and athleticism in their everyday lineup. They were keen to add another dynamic player who could provide a new dimension in October. In Chisholm they have a weapon that can influence games with its legs – and the confidence to influence them when the lights are brightest.

“Nobody’s going to throw me out,” Chisholm said.