The Yankees lost the rubber game on Wednesday against the Washington Nationals, 5-2, and dropped the series to one of the worst teams in the National League.
Here are the takeaways…
-Things did not start out well for starter Carlos Rodon as the lefty allowed two runs in the first inning. The first run came off recently called-up prospect Dylan Crews’ first career home run to lead off the frame and give the Nats a quick 1-0 lead.
James Wood, another exciting rookie for Washington, followed with a single, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before Andres Chaparro – yep, you guessed it, another rookie – worked a walk to put runners on the corners and nobody out.
-Things got a little weird after that as Rodon was called for a balk that scored the second run of the inning. A perturbed Rodon tried making his case to the umpires that his PitchCom stopped working, and while that was true, he never stepped off and the balk call was correct.
-The technology problem was unable to be resolved so catcher Austin Wells had to give signs with his fingers (the old-fashioned way) with a runner on second and nobody out. Rodon was able to retire the next three in order to get out of the inning with just two runs scored.
-Still, the 31-year-old’s issues did not go away as he allowed two more runs in the second in an inning that saw three hits and four stolen bases as the Nationals took full advantage of a flustered Rodon. Another run came across to score in the fourth as Crews got to Rodon again, this time a ringing double to center that could’ve resulted in more runs had Washington not run into an out on the base paths.
-Rodon was finally able to settle in later in the game and retired the final six batters he faced (four via strikeout). His night was done, though, after 5.2 innings and 100 pitches (68 strikes) while allowing five earned runs on eight hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.
All things considered, it wasn’t a terrible start for the lefty who had won five of his last six starts entering the contest.
-Unfortunately for Rodon, for the second straight game the Yankees offense was missing in action against one of the worst teams in the National League. Jazz Chisholm Jr. got them on the board in the second with a solo shot that cut the deficit in half and Aaron Judge had an RBI single in the fifth to make it 5-2, but that was it.
-Chisholm’s home run was his ninth in 20 games for New York after he had 13 in 101 games for the Miami Marlins before getting traded.
–Jake Cousins looked great in relief, going 1.1 perfect innings with two strikeouts as his strong season continues. Luke Weaver, on the other hand, didn’t look as sharp but got through a scoreless eighth thanks to some terrible baserunning by the Nats on a strange play that resulted in two outs.
-The Yanks made some noise in the top of the ninth against All-Star closer Kyle Finnegan after Anthony Volpe led off with a single followed by a walk to Chisholm. Both runners moved up on a double steal with one out, but Alex Verdugo grounded out back to the pitcher and Gleyber Torres struck out to end the game, leaving former National Juan Soto on deck. Soto went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
Game MVP: MacKenzie Gore
Sure, this honor could easily go to one of the talented rookies atop Washington’s lineup, but Gore breezed through six innings while allowing two earned runs on six hits, one walk and striking out six.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yanks get a day off on Thursday before returning to action on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals in the Bronx with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
RHP Marcus Stroman (9-6, 3.88 ERA) faces RHP Erick Fedde (8-7, 3.31 ERA).
