Yankees Beat the Nationals 5-3; Secure Pre-All-Star Break Sweep

The Yankees won this game in Washington 5-3. Will Warren pitched well, but the length was not there, just like all season. He struck out only 2 batters, which was a little aberrational for him, a high strikeout pitcher. The number five job in the team’s rotation is up for grabs. He just needs to grab it.

The Yankees are rolling right now; it is a shame the All-Star break is happening. The break threatens to short-circuit any momentum they have. That said, there is no such thing as momentum in baseball, so maybe the layoff will help them. Do you think the All-Star break helps or hurts players?

Yankees and Nationals Game Summary July 12

The Yankees were hoping to win this game and complete a sweep of the Nationals. If they did, having won the last game in Tampa Bay, they would have a four-game winning streak headed into the All-Star break. Here is how the game played out. They needed to win as the Rays keep winning.

In the first inning, James Woods hit a home run, and the Nationals took a 1-0 lead. That was it for a while. In the fifth inning, the Bombers scored two runs. First, Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled, and Cody Bellinger scored. Then Austin Wells singled, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. scored.

In the sixth inning, the Nationals equalled the score at two on a Curtis Mead solo home run. That was the third home run Tim Hill, Yankee reliever, has allowed this season. The score was two to two.

In the seventh innings, Naseem Nunez scored after Jazz Chisholm Jr. made an awful throwing error on a sure-out ground ball off the bat of Keibert Ruiz. The Nationals took a 3-2 lead.

In the eighth inning, the Yankees scored two runs. Ben Rice tripled, and both Max Schuemann and Trent Grisham scored. In all three games of this series, the National bullpen gave up the lead in the eigth inning. They are consistently bad.

In the ninth inning, Jose Caballero hit a sacrifice fly, and Cody Bellinger scored. The Yankees doubled their lead to 5-3. That was the final score of the game.

Holding Leads

In both of the first two games in this series, the Nationals held a late lead. In both cases, the Yankees hit three home runs to win the game. The Nationals’ bullpen blew the lead in this game as well. This has been a problem for the Nationals this series. The team is looking for relief pitchers who can get guys out.

Judge Injury Update

Slugger Aaron Judge is still a ways away, maybe more than a month, from returning to the lineup. However, there is an important injury update for him. He will get re-imaged over the All-Star Break. If his rib injury has healed enough, he will begin upper-body workouts. He has been able to do nothing since his injury. The Yankees need him back in the lineup in the worst possible way. This imaging should provide the Yanks with a timeline for the Judge’s return, which General Manager Brian Cashman said would be four to six more weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Yankees again came back, and they won this game 5-3, just like the game on Friday night. The player of the game, just like yesterday, was James Wood. He hit his tenth lead-off home run of the season to start the game. He also walked twice in the game. He is good. All of baseball is off tomorrow for the All-Star break. This was the last game of the proverbial first half for the teams.

Conclusion

The main story of this game was the bullpen of the Nationals, which blew a lead at the end of the game. The Nationals have been outscored 10-0 in the eighth inning of this series. The most blown saves in a season is 37 by the 2024 Chicago White Sox. The Nationals have so far blown 27. With the win, the Yankees swept the Nationals in the three-game series. They head into the All-Star break having won four games in a row. Hopefully, they get some good news about Aaron Judge.