Ben Rice’s two-out triple in the top of the eighth inning scored two runs, propelling the New York Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Washington Nationals and completing a weekend sweep. This marked the third consecutive game where the Yankees achieved a comeback win in the eighth inning or later.
The Yankees have now won four consecutive games, heading into the All-Star break on a positive note after a challenging 5-15 stretch. The win brought them within three games of the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East lead.
The Nationals’ bullpen faltered in all three games of the series. They held a lead in the ninth inning on Friday, the eighth on Saturday, and again in the eighth on Sunday, only to lose each contest.
In Sunday's game, Max Schuemann singled with two outs against left-handed pitcher Andrew Alvarez, followed by a walk to Trent Grisham, setting the stage for Rice. Rice worked a full count before hitting a deep fly ball that bounced off the wall in left-center field, scoring both runners to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. José Caballero added an insurance run in the ninth with a sacrifice fly.
David Bednar and Fernando Cruz were unavailable for the Yankees, leading Paul Blackburn to secure a six-out save.
Washington had taken a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning after an errant throw from Jazz Chisholm Jr. to first base allowed a run to score. Prior to that, Curtis Mead’s pinch-hit home run off Tim Hill had tied the game at 2-2 in the sixth.
Yankees starter Will Warren navigated through traffic for five innings, benefiting from three double plays while allowing only one run on four hits and two walks. He faced an early deficit after James Wood led off the first inning with a home run.
The Nationals starter, right-hander Cade Cavalli, held the Yankees to two runs over seven innings, surrendering RBI singles to Chisholm and Austin Wells. The Nationals finished the game with a record of 48-49.