New York Yankees 9, Washington Nationals 1
NEW YORK — On Wednesday night, Aaron Judge achieved a significant milestone in his major league career by hitting three home runs in a single game and matching his personal best with six runs batted in. His remarkable performance played a crucial role in ending the New York Yankees’ nine-game losing streak, the longest they had experienced in 41 years. The Yankees secured a decisive 9-1 victory over the Washington Nationals, with Judge’s outstanding contribution almost single-handedly responsible for the win.
Just two hours following general manager Brian Cashman’s characterization of the season as a “disaster,” Aaron Judge took a curveball from MacKenzie Gore (6-10) and sent it soaring beyond the Yankees bullpen in the right-center field during the first inning.
In the second inning, Aaron Judge extended the lead to 6-0 by hitting his fifth career grand slam, a powerful shot that landed in the netting above Monument Park located in center field. Later, in the seventh inning, he teamed up with DJ LeMahieu to hit consecutive home runs off Jose A. Ferrer. Their remarkable hits sailed over the right-field short porch and cleared the fence just inside the foul pole.
With 72 games played, Judge holds a batting average of .279 accompanied by 27 home runs and 54 runs batted in. As the current reigning AL MVP and possessing an impressive record of 32 multihomer games, he recently encountered a 3-for-19 decline in his performance. Notably, he made a return to play after being sidelined for almost eight weeks due to a sprained right big toe, even before the injury had completely healed.
The New York team, currently in last place with a record of 61-65, narrowly avoided what could have been their first 10-game losing streak since 1913, as reported by the Elias Sports Bureau. Prior to Aaron Judge’s initial home run, the Yankees had gone without leading for a span of 61 innings since their game against Atlanta on August 14th. This marked the third-longest such period in franchise history, trailing behind 63 innings from August 16th to 23rd in 1906, and 62 innings from September 25th to October 1st in 2000.
Luis Severino (3-8) delivered an impressive performance, permitting just one hit and matching his season record with 6 2/3 innings pitched. This marked a turnaround for Severino, who had experienced a winless stretch of 0-4 since his victory against Kansas City on July 23rd. His ERA also saw improvement, dropping from 7.98 to 7.26. The only batter to secure a hit against Severino was catcher Keibert Ruiz from Washington, who managed a two-out single to the right field in the fourth inning.
Ian Hamilton and Wandy Peralta combined to close out the game with a three-hit performance. In the ninth inning, Dominic Smith managed to hit a home run for the Nationals with two outs.
MacKenzie Gore’s recent struggles continued as he now holds a 0-3 record in his last five starts. Despite giving up six runs, only two of which were earned, and conceding four hits over four innings, his luck didn’t improve. Notably, Washington had been on a successful streak, winning eight of their last ten games before this match.
His defense faltered, exemplified by center fielder Lane Thomas losing track of Kyle Higashioka‘s fly ball in the twilight, which resulted in a two-base error as the ball brushed off right fielder Stone Garrett’s glove.
Unfortunately, Garrett seemed to injure his left ankle while attempting to prevent LeMahieu’s home run, prompting his departure from the field on a cart.
UP NEXT
Left-handed pitcher Patrick Corbin (8-11, 4.71 ERA) is set to take the mound in Thursday’s series finale for Washington.
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