About Last Night: Yankees 5, Nationals 1

About Last Night: Yankees 5, Nationals 1

By Derek McAdam

August 27, 2025

***

The New York Yankees defeated the Washington Nationals by a score of 5-1, winning the series and improving to 72-60 on the season. Here’s a quick recap of last night’s game.

Quick Stats:

W: Luis Gil (2-1): 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

L: MacKenzie Gore (5-13): 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

HRs: NYY: Giancarlo Stanton (17)

Big Story:

The Yankees came into last night’s game having won the first game of the series and were looking to take the series with a win.

In the top of the 1st, for the second straight game, the Yankees picked off a runner on first base. Austin Wells fired a throw down to first to get CJ Abrams for the out, which was initially ruled a safe call until the Yankees challenged.

The Nationals took the lead in the top of the 3rd when Abrams hit an RBI single to left field to score Robert Hassell and give Washington a 1-0 lead. However, the Yankees struck back in the bottom of the inning with a two-out rally. Paul Goldschmidt doubled, followed by walks to Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger, to bring up Stanton, who hit a three-run double off the left-center field wall to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead.

The Yankees’ defense continued to make another solid play in the 5th, when Bellinger threw out James Wood at home for the final out of the inning. The Yankees also caught a break when Wood ran straight through a stop sign, but Bellinger also made a nice throw to record the out.

Fernando Cruz made his return from the IL in the 6th, pitching for the first time at the Major League level since June 27. And although he got himself into a bases-loaded jam with one out, he recorded a big strikeout for the second out. Tim Hill then came on to get the final out and avoid any further damage.

In the 6th, Stanton hit a long two-run home run into the left-center field bleachers to give the Yankees a 5-1 lead, making him solely responsible for all five runs. The Yankees had a chance to bust the game open by loading the bases with two outs, but Goldschmidt flew out to left to end the inning.

The Yankees also had an opportunity to bust the game open in the 7th when they loaded the bases with two outs, but failed to score in an identical situation for the second time.

Camilo Doval and David Bednar came in for the 8th and 9th innings, respectively to record the final six outs and give the Yankees a crucial series win.

Player of the Game:

There is only one answer to this and that is Stanton. It was another extraordinary night for him at the plate and he continues to hold the fort down in right field.

Notable Performances:

Bellinger had a couple of nice at-bats and scored two of the five runs. The back end of the bullpen did a fine job, consisting of Hill, Doval and Bednar.

Better to Forget:

Coming off of sitting for two games in a row, it was another hitless game for Anthony Volpe, who struck out once in his four plate appearances.

My Take:

It was a nice win for the Yankees last night, one that puts them in position for a series sweep, which would be great momentum to take on their upcoming road trip that starts tomorrow in Southside Chicago.

There was not many interesting things that happened in this game, although both teams had several opportunities to push runs across the board, but ultimately failed to do so. The Nationals left nine on base while the Yankees left eight, which is not a good number considering they had the bases loaded three times in the game and failed to score on two of those occasions.

One aspect that has bothered me recently is the amount of walks that the starters have given up. It seems that night after night, the starters are giving up three, four, or five walks over the span of less than six innings of work. All of these walks are dramatically impacting the pitch counts and causing the starters to have shorter outings. With a bullpen that is extremely questionable, the Yankees need as many innings out of their starters as possible, so the walks have to go down in quantity.

However, Stanton is absolutely playing out of his mind lately. He is carrying this team on his back and does not seem to be letting his foot off the gas pedal any time soon. It reminds me of the 2018 season when Judge was out for several weeks after sustaining a broken wrist from a hit by pitch. Stanton was playing fantastic baseball during August and September and carried that momentum into the post-season. Hopefully, he can keep it up and carry the Yankees in yet another post-season.

The Yankees need a sweep, and not because they’re playing a bad Nationals team, but because every game from this point on is extremely vital. They shouldn’t worry too much about what the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners are doing, but more about what the New York Yankees are doing. If they want to decide their own fate, they should pay attention to their own games and ONLY their own games. Everything else will fall into place if they follow that mentality.

What’s Next?:

The Yankees will be back in action this afternoon against the Nationals for the final game of the series. Cade Cavalli is slated to start for the Nationals, while Max Fried is scheduled to take the mound for the Yankees. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. EST from Yankee Stadium.