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Series Recap
·2 min read

Series Recap: D.C. gridlock, Yankees earn split

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The New York Yankees and Washington Nationals finally finished off their suspended short series from May. After a strange abbreviated conclusion to the first game, the Yankees were basically running on all cylinders to complete the split in the second game.

GAME 1

Resuming a suspended contest from May 15, the most impactful bat in this game for the Yankees was Tyler Austin, who is no longer on the major league roster and for the Nationals, Juan Soto, who still hadn’t made his major league debut when this game started. In total, the Nationals earned the 5-3 win.

SOTO SO LONG

As mentioned, Soto, who didn’t debut until May 20, proved to be the difference maker in this one. During the sixth, Soto swatted a two-run bomb to right off Chad Green, giving the Nationals a 5-3 advantage. While the home run won’t technically be counted as his first, it counts just the same in deciding the final outcome.

Soto also doubled off Gary Sanchez after catching a liner off the bat of Didi Gregorius in left, ending a threat in the seventh.

MASA MIXED BAG

Masahiro Tanaka gave the Yankees five frames before the rains came. Despite some early trouble, he was able to keep New York in the game. A home run by Anthony Rendon staked Washington to a 1-0 lead in the first. Andrew Stevenson (who’s now down at Triple-A Syracuse) singled home a run in the second and Pedro Severino doubled home a run to make it 3-0.

Tanaka’s ledger included three runs, four hits and two K’s.

AUSTIN POWERS THE OFFENSE

Austin (now down at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) provided the Bronx Bombers offense, smacking a two-run shot to left off Gio Gonzalez in the fourth. Austin squared the game at three in the fifth with a sacrifice fly RBI to center.

GAME 2

The Yankees rode timely hitting and a bullpen which rose to the moment in their 4-2 victory against the Nationals.

THE HICKS AND GIO SHOW

Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton were right in the middle of the Bronx Bombers attack right from the get-go. Hicks started off the game with a double off Erick Fedde in the first frame. Stanton would stake New York to a 1-0 advantage with a single to center on a 2-0 cutter.

After the Nationals tied the game on a Mark Reynolds groundout in the second and took a 2-1 lead on a Reynolds sac fly to center in the fourth, Hicks helped Sonny Gray grab the lead right back.

During the fifth, Hicks hammered a 3-1 sinker to right and put the Yankees back in front 3-2.

In a puzzling move in the seventh, the Nationals kept lefty Sammy Solis in to face Stanton. Stanton summarily smacked a 3-0 changeup off the wall, driving home Clint Frazier and doubling the Yanks lead at 4-2. Playing in a National League city, Stanton certainly looked like an MVP on this night going 4-for-5.

HOLD ‘EM AND FOLD ‘EM

If the stats didn’t do it for you, the eye test was on full display with Jonathan Holder. Entering the game in relief of Gray in the sixth with a pair of runners on base and zero outs, Holder was on point. Holder was able to win a prolonged battle by whiffing Reynolds and followed that with a strikeout of Daniel Murphy and a popout of Pedro Severino to retire the side.

After David Robertson tossed a scoreless seventh, Dellin Betances was downright dirty, striking out the side in the eighth, all looking.

In the ninth, Aroldis Chapman escaped on a nice catch by Aaron Judge in right to end the ballgame.

ON DECK

At 47-22, the Yankees hop back to Yankee Stadium Tuesday for a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners.

Pitching probables, Marco Gonzales vs. Domingo German, Felix Hernandez vs. Jonathan Loaisiga, James Paxton vs. Luis Severino.