The Yankees rough stretch continues, though at least this time the offense provided some support. The Yankees even had a 6-2 lead in the top of the fifth inning in this one, but right-hander Nathan Eovaldi failed to complete his fifth inning. Eovaldi walked Danny Espinosa and after striking out Michael Taylor, he allowed four consecutive hits. The two-run ground ball single by Yunel Escobar to cut the Yankees lead to one was ultimately what chased Eovaldi, but he really didn’t seem to have it Tuesday night.
Top WPA Play: The Nationals had two big WPA plays in this one and both were home runs. The first came in the sixth inning when Wilson Ramos tied the game at six with a solo blast off David Carpenter (+.206).
The other was when Ryan Zimmerman hit a walkoff home run against Andrew Miller in the 10th inning (+.442).
The walkoff home run off Miller, who had been untouchable, was the crushing blow, but the Ramos home run was also very important. If David Carpenter had been able to make it through the sixth inning unscathed, then perhaps manager Joe Girardi would’ve gone to Dellin Betances at some point in the seventh if the Yankees had the lead. Unfortunately, we’ll never know what would’ve happened, though New York ended up taxing their back of the bullpen combination in the loss anyway.
Key Moment(s): After Bryce Harper hit a home run in the first inning, the Yankees did a pretty good job of keeping him in check the rest of the game. In the fifth inning, with the Yankees still clinging to a one-run lead, Justin Wilson got Harper to hit into an inning-ending double play. In the seventh inning, his old friend Chase Shreve struck Harper out swinging to end the inning. In the 10th inning, just before Zimmerman’s home run, Miller struck Harper out swinging. It says something about how good Harper is that holding him to a solo home run and a walk is considered a productive evening. Beyond the results, the Yankees process was sound in attacking Harper by using all three of the left-handed pitchers they have in the bullpen against him. The bullpen was well rested, but it also has to sting a little bit to lose a game where New York went through most of the bullpen.
Up Next: The Yankees are back in Washington again as Adam Warren (2-2, 4.50 ERA, 4.06 DRA) and Jordan Zimmerman (3-2, 3.66 ERA, 3.76 DRA) will be on the mound Wednesday night for game two of this three-game series.
(Photo: Evan Habeeb-USA Today Sports)