by The Yankees spent most of Sunday looking like they were about to waste another winnable game. Then Ben Rice drove a ball to the wall, Washington could not finish the play, and the Yankees walked into the All-Star break with a sweep.
New York defeated the Washington Nationals, 5-3, completing its third straight late-inning comeback and extending its winning streak to four games.
For the third consecutive game, the Yankees were trailing after seven innings.
For the third consecutive game, they found a way out.
James Wood Puts the Yankees Behind Immediately
Will Warren did not receive much time to settle in.
Nationals leadoff hitter James Wood opened the bottom of the first inning by launching a home run to center field, giving Washington an immediate 1-0 lead.
Warren then walked Luis García, and it looked like the inning could get ugly before it ever really started. Instead, Warren got Abimelec Ortiz to ground into a double play and retired C.J. Abrams to escape without further damage.
That sequence changed Warren’s afternoon.
Washington threatened again in the fourth when Ortiz doubled and Abrams followed with a single, putting runners on the corners with nobody out. Warren responded by striking out Dylan Crews before Daylen Lile lined into an inning-ending double play.
Aaron Boone credited Warren for calming himself down after a difficult beginning.
“I think I looked up and we’re 16 pitches and no outs and a man on first,” Boone said. “Then he gets the double-play ball, kind of settled from there, and I thought pitched really, really well.”
Warren finished with five innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks.
The Yankees Finally Break Through in the Fifth
The Yankees did almost nothing against Cade Cavalli through the first four innings.
Cody Bellinger walked in the second, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. grounded into a double play. José Caballero followed with a single, only to get picked off before Ryan McMahon could finish his at-bat.
That was about it until the fifth.
Jazz ties it up 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ON7QXfQjaZ
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 12, 2026
Bellinger started the inning with a double to left field. Chisholm followed with an RBI single into right-center, tying the game at 1-1.
A Birthday Gift from Wells 🎁 pic.twitter.com/T33ngFWUss
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 12, 2026
After Caballero popped out and McMahon struck out, a wild pitch moved Chisholm into scoring position. Austin Wells then delivered a two-out single to right, bringing Jazz home and giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead.
It was not a huge offensive explosion, but after watching this lineup struggle to string together quality at-bats, three hits in one inning felt like progress.
Washington Answers Against the Bullpen
The lead did not survive long.
Tim Hill replaced Warren in the sixth and struck out García before Washington sent Curtis Mead to the plate as a pinch-hitter.
Mead worked the count and then drove a home run to center field, tying the game at 2-2.
Angel Chivilli entered to finish the sixth, but Washington created more trouble against him in the seventh.
José Tena singled with one out and was replaced by pinch-runner Nasim Nuñez. Nuñez stole second before Chivilli struck out José Tena’s replacement in the lineup sequence, José Vivas.
With two outs, Keibert Ruiz hit a ground ball toward second base. Chisholm fielded it, but his throw went away for an error, allowing Nuñez to score and giving Washington a 3-2 lead.
The Yankees were now three outs away from entering the break with another frustrating loss.
Instead, the comeback started with two outs and nobody on base.
Caution: The Rice is HOT 🍚 pic.twitter.com/f3x5dNz1nS
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 12, 2026
Ben Rice Delivers the Swing of the Game
Paul Goldschmidt opened the eighth as a pinch-hitter and flew out. Amed Rosario followed by striking out.
Two quick outs.
Then Max Schuemann singled into center field.
That was the at-bat Boone pointed toward afterward because Schuemann has quietly continued finding ways to help this team, whether he is starting, pinch-running, moving around the field or coming off the bench.
“He’s done a lot of really good things,” Boone said. “He’s done a really nice job carving out a role for himself.”
A wild pitch moved Schuemann to second before Trent Grisham worked a walk, bringing Rice to the plate with two runners aboard.
Nationals reliever Andrew Alvarez threw Rice four consecutive curveballs.
Rice drove the fourth one deep toward left-center field. Crews raced back, crashed into the wall and could not complete the catch. Schuemann and Grisham both scored while Rice reached third with a two-run triple.
Yankees 4, Nationals 3.
Rice admitted afterward that he was not sure he had hit the ball well enough.
“I didn’t think I got it quite right,” Rice said. “But I saw it kept going. The wind must have been helping it just enough to make it a tough wall-ball play there. I was happy that it didn’t get caught.”
It was Rice’s only hit of the game, but it was the one the Yankees desperately needed.
That has been the story throughout this series. Jazz delivered the big hit Friday. Grisham did it Saturday. Rice took his turn Sunday.
Different player. Same late comeback.
Blackburn Locks It Down
Paul Blackburn took over in the bottom of the eighth and immediately protected the one-run lead.
He retired Mead on a pop-up before striking out Abrams and Crews to end the inning.
The Yankees added an insurance run in the ninth.
Bellinger singled to right, and Chisholm doubled into center to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Caballero followed with a sacrifice fly, scoring Bellinger and extending the lead to 5-3.
Blackburn returned for the bottom of the ninth and needed no drama.
Lile flew out to center. Nuñez grounded back to the mound. Vivas flew out to left.
Six batters faced. Six batters retired.
Blackburn earned his first save after throwing two perfect innings with two strikeouts.
“He’s quietly pitched really well for us,” Boone said. “He goes out and he’s really efficient. Six up, six down.”
The Yankees Finally Responded
The Yankees entered this road trip trying to recover from a brutal 1-9 stretch.
They finished the trip 5-2.
They have now won four consecutive games for the first time since June 13-17 and improved to 54-42.
More importantly, they swept a series in which they trailed after seven innings every single day. The Yankees are only 6-34 this season when trailing after seven, and three of those six victories came against Washington this weekend.
That is how strange this series was.
Rice said the Yankees cannot assume a late deficit means the game is finished.
“We go down in those later innings just knowing that we still got some at-bats left,” Rice said. “That’s the kind of mentality we need to carry into after the break.”
The Yankees are still not in first place. Rice acknowledged that himself after the game. Three comeback victories against Washington do not erase the ugly baseball that came before this road trip.
But after spending weeks watching the offense disappear, the bullpen crack and the team give away games, the Yankees finally answered back.
Now they enter the All-Star break with four straight wins, a three-game sweep and at least a little life returning to the room.
They will return Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
NYY.NEWS SHOP - MEMORABILIA, CLOTHING & MORE
-
Women’s Touch Navy/Gray New York Yankees Lead Off Notch Neck T-Shirt
$44.99 Buy Now -
Men’s Nike Heather Gray New York Yankees Arched T-Shirt
$34.99 Buy Now -
Men’s Cutter & Buck White New York Yankees Forge Stretch Polo
$84.99 Buy Now -
Women’s WEAR by Erin Andrews Heather Gray New York Yankees Plus Size Knotted T-Shirt Dress
$64.99 Buy Now -
MLB NEW YORK YANKEES BLACKOUT MEN’S CJ DROP SHOULDER TEE (BLACK)
$65.00 Buy Now -
Women’s Nike Navy New York Yankees Cooperstown Club Script Adjustable Hat
$29.99 Buy Now -
Women’s Ash New York Yankees Team Lockup T-Shirt
$34.99 Buy Now -
WinCraft New York Yankees Logo Post Earrings
$11.99 Buy Now
