Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin, who entered the game with the highest ERA (5.73) among all qualified major league starters, delivered six shutout innings for the first time this season.
This, along with poor defense and missed offensive chances later in the game, contributed to the Yankees’ 4-2 defeat against the Nationals on a frustrating evening at Nationals Park.
Aaron Judge remarked, “We had a few mistakes and errors. You can’t afford that if you want to win games. We had opportunities in the last two innings to come back and win, but we just couldn’t pull it off.”
Down 4-0 in the eighth inning, the Yankees (79-54) loaded the bases with no outs for Judge. However, the red-hot slugger couldn’t deliver, hitting a 3-1 pitch into the ground for a double play that allowed the Nationals (60-73) to trade a run for the out. Giancarlo Stanton then grounded out, ending the threat.
In the ninth inning, the Yankees managed to score one run as Jazz Chisholm Jr. doubled and scored, putting runners on first and second with one out.
Against right-handed closer Kyle Finnegan, DJ LeMahieu flew out to foul territory, and Gleyber Torres flew out just short of the warning track, ending the game as the Yankees went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
When asked if he considered pinch-hitting for LeMahieu with Oswaldo Cabrera available, manager Aaron Boone said he did not because Finnegan has “been dominant against left-handed hitters.”
Finnegan entered the game holding lefties to a .186 average and a .636 OPS, compared to .257 and .732 against right-handed hitters.
After playing solid defense the previous night, the Yankees were sloppy in the sixth inning, committing three errors that allowed the Nationals to extend their lead from 3-0 to 4-0—a crucial run in the late stages of the game.
With one out, Dylan Crews hit a slow roller in front of the plate. Jose Trevino fielded the ball but threw it inaccurately to first base, allowing Crews to reach safely and advance to second on the error.
Crews then stole third base, despite Trevino’s throw arriving in time. Chisholm was unable to apply the tag properly, setting the stage for Crews to score on a ground ball from former Yankee Joey Gallo. LeMahieu mishandled the ball twice, letting all runners stay safe.
Boone commented, “On a night when we’re not scoring many runs, we need to be more precise than that.”
Gallo later stole second base, but there was no one covering the bag as Trevino’s throw went into center field. Boone mentioned that Anthony Volpe and Torres were confused about who was supposed to cover, leading Gallo to advance to third and culminating a rough sequence.“Stuff like that happens,” Trevino said. “It’s a miscommunication.”
The Nationals were ahead 1-0 in the fourth inning when former Yankees prospect Andres Chaparro and Jose Tena hit back-to-back home runs off Cole on consecutive 96 mph fastballs. These were the first two home runs of their careers.
Cole commented, “I felt confident in both pitches and thought we executed them well, but they were the wrong choices, and they made solid contact.” Cole struck out seven over five innings, marking his shortest outing since July 6.
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