WASHINGTON – Every household in the tri-state area was probably quoting John Sterling on Tuesday night – at least by fans who didn’t choose to use curse words.
That’s baseball, Suzyn.
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who had allowed only three runs and no home runs in his last four starts (over 23 innings) on Tuesday, conceded three runs in five innings with two home runs.
Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin, who entered the evening with the highest ERA (5.73) of any qualified starter in the major leagues, threw six innings without conceding a goal for the first time this year.
That combination, along with poor defense late in the game, was enough to send the Yankees to a 4-2 victory over the Nationals on a frustrating night at Nationals Park.
The Yankees (79-54) had a chance to get back into the game after trailing 4-0 in the eighth inning when they loaded the bases and Aaron Judge did not allow an out.
But the red-hot bat slammed a 3-1 pitch into the ground and created a double play, which the Nationals (60-73) happily traded for a run before Giancarlo Stanton eliminated the danger with a groundout.
Then, in the ninth, the Yankees barely managed a run when Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a double to score before putting runners on first and second base with one out.
But DJ LeMahieu flew into foul territory and Gleyber Torres flew out just before the warning line, which ended the game.
One night after playing excellent defense, the Yankees sloppy performances, making three errors in the sixth inning, allowing the Nationals to turn a 3-0 lead into a 4-0 lead.
With one out, Dylan Crews managed to dribble in front of the plate, which Jose Trevino caught and threw to first base. Crews was able to reach first base with a single and use the error to get to second base.
Crews then stole third base, although Trevino got there first because Chisholm couldn’t make the tag properly. He was able to score on a ground ball to first base by ex-Yankee Joey Gallo, but LeMahieu fumbled it twice, leaving all runners safe.
Later, Gallo stole second base, but no one covered the base on that play as Trevino’s throw sailed into center field and Gallo advanced to third base to cap an ugly sequence.
The Nationals took a 1-0 lead against Cole in the second inning when Jose Tena hit a single, Dylan Crews hit a base double off the left outfield wall (his first career hit), and Gallo then hit a ground ball to second base.
In the fourth inning, Andres Chaparro and Tena hit their first and second career home runs against Cole.
Chaparro, the former Yankees talent, was robbed of a two-run home run on Monday night by Aaron Judge’s spectacular diving catch off the center field wall.
Against Cole, however, he left no doubt by picking up a 96 mph fastball at the top of the zone and smashing it into the seats in left field.
Tena blasted the next pitch, a 96-mile-per-hour inner-third fastball, 405 feet into right-center field, giving the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
Cole managed seven strikeouts that night, but after needing 91 pitches to get 15 outs, Aaron Boone went to the bullpen.
Corbin, meanwhile, didn’t let the Yankees interfere with the batting, allowing just two hits – a two-out double by Judge in the first inning and a harmless single by Giancarlo Stanton in the fourth – and allowing two walks while making six strikeouts.
