About Yesterday Afternoon: Finishing Strong. Yankees 5, Nationals 3

About Yesterday Afternoon: Finishing Strong. Yankees 5- Nationals 3

By Tim Kabel

July 13, 2026

***

The Yankees beat the Nationals again yesterday, to sweep the three-game series and go into the All Star break off a four-game winning streak. In all three games against the Nationals, the Yankees were trailing after seven innings. To steal a line from The Wizard of Oz, Nationals fans must be singing, “If I only had a bullpen.”

Will Warren bounced back from a few rough outings and pitched five innings, allowing four hits and one run. He had two strikeouts and two walks. Tim Hill, who will probably benefit from the All-Star break more than any other Yankees pitcher, gave up a run in 1/3 of an inning. The Nationals scored their last run in the 7th inning as a result of a Jazz Chisholm error. Angel Chivilli pitched 1 inning and allowed only that unearned run. Ryan Yarbrough, who came in to close out the 7th inning earned the win. Paul Blackburn, who started the game on Thursday against the Rays to begin the winning streak, closed the game out yesterday to earn the save. That's baseball, Suzyn.

In the 8th inning with the Yankees trailing 3 to 2, Ben Rice hit a two-run triple off Andrew Alvarez to give the Yankees the lead. They added a run in the ninth inning on a Jose Caballero sacrifice fly.

The three victories against the Nationals were not lopsided affairs. The Yankees did not dominate the games. They had to come back late in all the games to win. However, they won the games, which is all that matters. As I have written many times, the Yankees need to make hay while the sun shines. The Nationals have a dreadful bullpen. The Yankees took advantage of that. That is what they must do if they are going to make the postseason and advance.

It is great that the Yankees won four games in a row to finish out the nominal first half of the season. However, looking at the bigger picture, the Yankees were 12-14 in June and are 6-5 in July. That is a record of 18-19 since June 1st. That is mediocre and the very definition of a Boone-Swoon. Clearly, that is not winning baseball. It is not the type of performance that will allow a team to advance in the postseason. Winning four in a row was nice but there has to be more than that.

When the Yankees resume play after the All-Star break on Friday, July 17th, they will have a three-game series against the Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. They will then play the Pirates, Phillies, White Sox, and Cubs to close out July. They will be playing tough teams. None of those teams have losing records or bullpens that would be mediocre in the minor leagues. Matt Krook, who was brought in to close the game on Friday but failed and then again on Saturday, was designated for assignment by the Nationals on Sunday. So, he went from being the nominal closer on Friday to being booted off the team on Sunday.

The point is that when the Yankees come back from the All-Star break, they will have no breaks. They will be playing tough competition. The first time they play a team with a record below .500 will be on August 11th when they play the Mariners. Mind you, the Mariners are only one game below .500 right now. They may be playing much better in a month. The Yankees can only play the teams that are on the schedule. They had some trouble recently beating weak teams. Beginning on Friday, they won't be playing any weak teams. This will be the true test for the 2026 Yankees. They have been mediocre since the end of May.

Beginning on July 17th, they will have to be excellent against much stiffer competition if they hope to win the division or advance very far in the playoffs.

A Few Tidbits: 

·       This is the first time the Yankees have won four games in a row since June 13th to the 17th.

·       The Yankees tied the White Sox with their eighth win when trailing in the 8th inning or later for the most such victories in the American League.

·       The Yankees are 6-34 when trailing after 7 innings. Half of those wins came in this series against the Nationals. 

·       James Wood led off the game for the Nationals with a home run. It was his 28th home run of the year and his 10th leadoff home run, breaking the Nationals record he shared with Alfonso Soriano who hit 9 in 2006.

·       The Yankees swept a series for the seventh time this season.

·       Ben Rice has an 8-game hitting streak and has reached base 12 games in a row.

·       Tim Hill has allowed four home runs so far this month. He may not be over the hill, but he is clearly overused.

·       The Yankees selected two-way player Luke Pettitte, the son of five-time World Series champion Andy Pettitte in the eighth round of the 2026 draft yesterday., Luke who like his father is a pitcher, was unable to pitch during his junior season after having Tommy John surgery. He became a full time DH and hit .337 with 16 home runs and 48 RBI.

·       On July 12th, 1951, Allie Reynolds threw the first of his two no-hitters that season. He defeated Bob Feller and the Cleveland Indians 1-0.

***

After The All-Star break, the Yankees will open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, July 17th, at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium.