​WASHINGTON — It has been more than a century since the Yankees pulled off a sweep like this. Not since 1910, before Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Reggie Jackson, had New York completed a three-game series sweep while trailing in the eighth inning or later in each game. The latest twist came as Ben Rice delivered a two-run triple in the eighth inning to lift the Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Washington Nationals. New York found themselves behind in the ninth on Friday, in the eighth on Saturday, and again in the eighth on Sunday, yet managed to win all three meetings and extend a remarkable streak of late-inning resilience.
Sportradar notes that this is the first time the Yankees have swept a series of at least three games while trailing in the eighth or later in every contest since May 19-21, 1910, when the original New York Highlanders swept the Cleveland Naps. The most recent parallel to this improbable feat occurred much more recently, on June 13-15, 2014, when the Colorado Rockies won three straight at San Francisco. The consistency of late-game success highlights the Yankees’ ability to win in different ways and under varying circumstances, both offensively and on the mound.
Head coach Aaron Boone commented on the performance, saying, “We’ve won at-bats in different ways across all three games. It’s a credit to the pitching staff for keeping a strong offense in check and giving us chances to win every night, and the guys did some really smart things late in games.” The strategy paid off in different fashions throughout the series.
Friday’s game saw New York trailing 3-2 heading into the ninth, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. belted a two-run homer to flip the script. Austin Wells followed with a solo shot, and the Yankees captured a 5-3 win. The series then moved to Saturday, where Washington led 2-0 before New York staged a four-run eighth inning that featured long balls from Ryan McMahon, Trent Grisham, and Paul Goldschmidt, turning the game in a heartbeat. Sunday provided a different path to victory: no long balls were necessary, but Rice’s seventh-inning blast proved critical in a game that could have swung the other way.
Rice’s eighth-inning drive proved pivotal. Center fielder Dylan Crews watched the ball sail toward the wall, unable to track it in time. “I didn’t think I struck it perfectly, but I saw it kept carrying,” Rice said. “The wind helped just enough to make it a tough wall-ball play there.” The late insurance run in the ninth added an exclamation mark to the series, allowing the Yankees to finish the set with a commanding outburst in the eighth and ninth innings, outscoring the Nationals by a combined 10-0 in those late frames.
As the series concluded, the Yankees had completed a historic sweep while trailing in the late innings, a feat not achieved since the early days of the 20th century. The triumph showcased a blend of clutch hitting, timely pitching, and relentless late-game execution that has become a hallmark of this Yankees squad. With multiple players stepping forward in critical moments, New York demonstrated their capacity to win in multiple ways, even when the odds appeared stacked against them. The victory also reinforced the team’s standing as a resilient club capable of turning pressure into production in the most decisive moments of a three-game set.