pinstripealley
The Yankees came to Washington, DC after a series split with the Rays to match wits with a young and hungry Nationals team.
The Nats are young, exude talent, and score tons of runs.
They also give up lots of runs, particularly in the late innings.
The Bombers saw both sides of the DC dichotomy tonight, watching a pair of talented hitters tear their hard-earned 2-1 lead to ribbons in just two pitches.
But in the ninth, a pair of thunderous blasts from Jazz Chisholm Jr.
and Austin Wells flipped the script a second time, and brought the Bombers to victory, 5-3.
After a two-hour rain delay pushed first pitch to just after 8:45pm ET, the Yankees began their offensive effort from the man who propelled them to the aforementioned Trop split: All-Star and soon-to-be Home Run Derby participant Ben Rice.
Rice cracked a fastball from opener Carson Palmquist just past the leap of left fielder Dylan Crews and into the Yankee bullpen to give New York an early advantage.
If Benny Barrels grabs one more dinger in this series, hell have 30 homers before the All-Star Break.
What a season he is putting together.
[Media: https://www.mlb.com/video/ben-rice-homers-29-on-a-fly-ball-to-left-center-field?t=most-popular] The Yankees got two more runners aboard in the first, including on a single from Paul Goldschmidt that ended his 0-f0r-34 slide, but Palmquist worked around the jam to hold New York to the lone run.
Because this is a Ryan Weathers start, silliness was immediately afoot.
In the second inning, two misplays in the infield forced him to essentially get five outs a task he managed to accomplish without allowing a run, much to his credit.
One of those misplays came from Amed Rosario, who is burning up the goodwill he accrued early in the year.
You just cant be the lefty specialist who gets called upon to hit leadoff against the lefty opener with a 7 ERA and then go 0-for-2 with two strikeouts against him.
To then boot a ball and make your pitchers job tougher is just a really tough look.
Weathers escaped that bind, but ran into further issues in the third thanks to the All-Star James Wood.
Wood slammed a changeup 112 mph for a double, advanced to third on a base hit, then scored on a double playanother well-executed pitch by Weathers spurred the twin killing and subdued Washingtons rally.
The Bombers jumped back ahead the following half-inning, making the deed all the more impactful.
Palmquist did his job and more, taking care of the first three innings for manager Blake Buterathen ceded to the veteran righty Zack Littell.
Catcher Keibert Ruiz did Littell a solid by throwing out Cody Bellinger on a steal attempt.
That meant that Jasson Dominguezs ensuing home run was just a solo shot, but hey! A power display from the Martian is always welcome! His fifth home run of the year sailed 408 feet to right center field, over one of the deepest parts of Nationals Park.
[Media: https://www.mlb.com/video/zack-littell-in-play-run-s-to-jasson-dominguez-yeedwb?q=Jasson%20Dominguez&cp=CMS_FIRST&qt=FREETEXT&p=0] Much to our chagrin, it was once again Amed Rosario time in the bottom of the fourth.
An entirely routine ground ball to third base turned into a triple thanks to a complete lawn dart uncorked by Rosariowhich eluded Paul Goldschmidt and skipped into a gulf of foul territory along the right field wall.
Mercifully, Andres Chaparro was subsequently erased in a rundown between third and home; and Weathers struck out Luis Garcia Jr.
to retire the side.
Once again, give Weathers credit for playing with the poor hands he was repeatedly dealt.
But seriously, these kinds of mistakes from Rosario cannot continue to happen.
(Ryan McMahon unsurprisingly took over afterward.) Weathers beautifully worked a peaceful fifth inning, retiring the side in order and finishing with a strikeout of Curtis Mead.
It sure would be nice if he could receive some more substantial run support than just the two solo shots the Bombers could muster.
It probably wouldnt have prevented Aaron Boone from making the call to Fernando Cruz when Weathers allowed two hits to put runners on the corners in the sixth.
For once though, Ryan caught a break when C.J.
Abrams slipped rounding third and failed to score the tying run.
Cruz cashed in that favor by striking out Daylen Lile and familiar face Jorbit Vivas to once again send a frustrated Washington offense packing.
Weathers deservedly remained in line for the win thanks to Fernandos continued success in leverage spots; as Michael Kay noted, he has stranded 30 of 35 inherited runners this year, the most in MLB.
But baseball does not like its starting pitchers, dear reader.
The Yankees lead turned into a deficit in a matter of two pitches in the home seventh.
A moment after the YES broadcast flashed a chyron showing the dramatic gulf in ERA between the Yankees and Nationals bullpen, Keibert Ruiz took Tim Hill deep with a drive down the left field line, just inside the foul-pole for a game-tying home run.
Then Wood seized upon Hills very next pitch, thrashing it on a line to the right-center stands for his 26th round-tripper and a 3-2 Washington lead.
The second-best lineup against southpaws in the league finally showed up after the seventh-inning stretch.
[Media: https://www.mlb.com/video/keibert-ruiz-and-james-wood-go-back-to-back?q=New%20York%20Yankees&cp=CMS_FIRST&qt=FREETEXT&p=0] The whole sequence reminded of that one Yankees-Twins game from 2021 in which Aroldis Chapman gave up a pair of homers to turn a win into a loss in record timebut at the very least the Yanks had multiple opportunities to get back in the game tonight.
The eighth inning was a dud, though.
Ben Rice hit a sharp ground ball to first with a runner on, but Garcia made a nice stab to turn it into a double play.
Butera brought in former Yankee prospect Clayton Beeter after an infield hit from Trent Grisham, and Beeter successfully struck out Goldschmidt to get the rickety Nats bullpen three outs away from victory.
Another pitcher who debuted with the Yankees was tabbed to pitch the ninth: lefty Matt Krook.
Few people, including the sickos who read this site, likely remember Krooks MLB debut, in which he let up five runs in under two innings as part of a blowout loss to the Red Sox in 2023.
Theyre more likely to remember the big swing he surrendered tonight.
Dominguez lit the fire, putting the tying run aboard with a single and passing the baton to Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Jazz took a first pitch sweeper low, then watched a sinker pass by for strike one.
Krook then returned to the breaking ball on 1-1, and Chisholm uncoiled, ripping it to the second deck in right field.
Turnabout is fair playthe Yankees were back on top.
[Media: https://www.mlb.com/video/jazz-chisholm-jr-homers-13-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-field-jasson-dominguez?q=Jazz%20Chisholm%20Jr.&cp=CMS_FIRST&qt=FREETEXT&p=0] But New York wasnt done.
Austin Wells, who notably ended his homer drought yesterday in St.
Petersburg, turned it into a streak by clobbering a ball from Justin Lawrence into the night for a critical insurance run.
[Media: https://www.mlb.com/video/austin-wells-homers-6-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field-2a5349-pfcfju?q=Austin%20Wells&cp=CMS_FIRST&qt=FREETEXT&p=0] Three David Bednar outs and multiple Blake Butera thousand-yard stares later, the Yamkees were 5-3 winners just a shade before midnight.
What a win for the Bombers.
As I said in the game thread earlier tonight, the Nats are pure entertainment value; sometimes to their benefit, but often to their detriment as well.
Tomorrows contest is a mid-afternoon affair in the nations capital.
Cam Schlittler will take the mound following an eight-inning masterpiece at the Trop, facing veteran Miles Mikolas.
First pitch is due at 4:05pm ET on YES.
Box Score.