​When your offense is having trouble scoring runs, you better be razor sharp at every small detail around the field, with defense at the forefront. The Yankees looked poised for a flawless defensive performance, but a nonchalant error by Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the seventh seemed to tilt the game in the Nationals’ favor. Still, if you watched the first two games of this series, you’d know the offense hadn’t quit until the final pitch. They battled back in the eighth to notch their third straight come-from-behind win of the series. The first two contests ended with late-game heroics—home runs in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively—while today’s victory came on a two-run, eighth-inning triple by Ben Rice, sealing a 5-3 win and giving the team a two-game sweep of the Nationals to close out the first half.
Will Warren’s season has stalled after a strong start. In his last 11 starts dating back to May 6, he’s posted a 5.34 ERA and a 4.77 FIP, while his strikeouts, walks, and home runs per nine innings have regressed noticeably. Early in the year, Warren found surprising and outsized success with a fastball that hitters hadn’t yet learned to anticipate, thanks to its low arm-slot release and rising movement. As hitters have begun to adjust to the deception, an under-94-mph heater that isn’t precisely commanded to the edges of the zone has become a less effective weapon.
It’s clear he didn’t receive the memo that he shouldn’t be throwing that heater so often—or at all to James Wood. The Nationals’ rising star did all the damage in this series with two homers off the No. 1, swinging at a full count before Warren grooved a four-seamer right down the middle. Wood launched it 434 feet to straightaway center for his tenth leadoff homer of the year, a new Nationals franchise record.
In the second, Warren faced a tense moment when he plunked José Tena with two outs and awkwardly planted on his left leg. He grabbed his hamstring and needed attention from Aaron Boone and the trainer, but he stayed in the game and finished the inning. The defense backed their starter, turning double plays in the first and third to erase a pair of walks, and they capped the frame with a crucial inning-ending double play on a liner with runners at the corners in the fourth.
The defensive effort paid off by keeping the score tight, and the offense finally came through when it mattered most. Jazz Chisholm Jr. delivered the game-winning blow with a ninth-inning homer on Friday—undoubtedly the season’s swing, and he was back in the spotlight again in the fifth. Cody Bellinger led off the inning with a double to left, and Jazz drove him home with a line-drive RBI single into short right-center. Chisholm also made a heads-up baserunning play to advance to second on a ball in the dirt that didn’t bounce far from home plate, setting the stage for Austin Wells to step in. Wells, celebrating his birthday, capped the moment with a strong contribution as the offense rallied in time to secure the victory.