WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals let a seventh-inning lead slip away Friday night, falling 5-3 to the New York Yankees at Nationals Park after Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s two-run homer in the ninth inning put the game away.
The series opener was delayed two hours at first pitch by a wet field, and once it got going, the two lineups traded haymakers by air. Keibert Ruiz and James Wood went deep on back-to-back pitches in the seventh inning, erasing an early Yankees lead and putting Washington ahead 3-2 in front of a loud Nationals Park crowd.
New York had an answer for every Nationals punch. Ben Rice hit his 29th home run of the season, and Jasson Domínguez and Austin Wells also went deep, keeping the Yankees within striking distance all night. The decisive blow came in the ninth, when Nationals reliever Krook issued a one-out single to Domínguez before Chisholm turned on a pitch for his 13th homer of the year, a two-run shot that put New York ahead for good.
Carson Palmquist started for Washington opposite New York’s Ryan Weathers, with neither factoring into the decision as both bullpens took over in the late innings.
The loss drops the Nationals to 48-47 on the season as they continue their series against the Yankees at Nationals Park on Saturday.
Sources: Baseball-Reference.com, The Nats Report