Late home run barrage lifts Yankees to series win over Nationals
- Davis Cornell
- Jul 11
- 4 min read
The Yankees took down the Nationals 4-2 to secure the series win. Cam Schlittler got the starting nod for the Yankees and faced off against the Nationals' opener, PJ Poulin.
Amed Rosario led off the ballgame with a walk; Ben Rice followed with a single up the middle, putting two aboard with nobody out. However, Trent Grisham and Paul Goldschmidt went down on strikes, then Cody Bellinger lined out to shortstop, stranding Rice and Rosario.
The Nationals jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning via solo home runs from James Wood and Curtis Mead.
“It was a grind early there,” Schlittler said. “They made two good swings on some good pitches, so just kind of had to battle through it.”
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Schlittler allowed a single and walked a couple of batters, loading the bases with two outs. But he induced a popout to work into and out of trouble.
Volpe legged out an infield single to lead off the fifth inning and was thrown out at second base while trying to advance on a bad throw.
Rice led off the sixth inning with a single to right field; the next batter, Grisham, lined a single into center field, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. But Goldy bounced into a 5-4-3 double play and Belli flew out to deep right field to end the frame.
Schlittler worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth inning on just 12 pitches. Schlittler struck out the first two batters of the bottom of the seventh, then Brent Headrick took over and allowed a couple of infield singles and walked a batter, loading the bases. Headrick struck out CJ Abrams to work out of trouble.
Final line for Schlittler: 6.2 innings pitched, four hits allowed, two earned runs, walked four, and struck out six on 99 pitches. He threw his fastball 34% of the time, the cutter 33%, the sinker 22%, and the curveball 10%. Schlittler topped out at 100.3 mph, sitting at 98, and had eight whiffs.
“Lost it a little bit there in the second and the third,” Schlittler said. “Just kind of had to battle through it, and I feel like I figured out my stuff towards the back end of the game, so I could take that as a win.”
With one out in the top of the eighth inning, Ryan McMahon crushed a solo shot to right-center field to cut the Nationals' lead to 2-1.
“Just trying to put a good one on, get something started, get on base,” McMahon said. “I got to it and luckily, you know, kind of started us a little bit and the boys just kind of, we just followed suit, man. We were just grinding out of bats and trying to get something going.”
Rice followed with a walk, reaching base for the fourth time today. The next batter, Grisham, crushed a no-doubt two-run bomb into the second deck in right field to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. Goldy followed with a home run to left field, making it back-to-back jacks and extending the Yankees' lead to 4-2.
“It feels good; we know what everybody in this clubhouse is capable of,” Grisham said. “But it's been cool to see a different guy every night kind of come through.”
Fernando Cruz replaced Headrick in the bottom of the eighth inning and retired the side in order on just seven pitches.
The Yankees' closer, David Bednar, got the call in the bottom of the ninth and recorded the final three outs to secure the series win and pick up the save.
“It is fun, man,” McMahon said of watching Bednar right now. “He's going right at guys like you guys are seeing. He's getting strike one, strike two pretty quick. And then from there, he's got his choice. So he's been dominant. It's been fun.”
The Yankees will look to complete the sweep tomorrow with Will Warren on the mound; the Nationals starter is still TBD. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET on the YES Network.
My thoughts on the game: Another great start from Schlittler; he didn't have his best stuff but put together a great start; his command was off, walking four batters. Headrick put himself in a jam but eventually picked up the final out of the seventh inning. Cruz worked a very easy eighth inning; I was surprised they didn't keep him in for the ninth after Bednar had to get six outs last night. Bednar pitched an easy ninth inning, extending his scoreless streak to 19 straight innings. The Yankees bullpen is starting to come together a little bit. Rice has been on fire at the plate this week with two more hits and a couple of walks. Grisham also had a multi-game and a huge go-ahead home run. McMahon also went deep to get the Yankees on the board. Goldy also went deep. Just a great win all around, and the Yankees are now officially on a winning streak after a third straight. On to tomorrow as the Yankees will look to end the first half on a high note.
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