The Yankees head into the second half’s final weekend with a chance to keep the long ball rolling, and the matchup in Washington comes with a neat little wrinkle: the majors’ top two home run teams are meeting head-on.
New York leads the league with 135 homers, while the Nationals are right behind at 132. That power race frames a three-game series that opens Friday night, with the Yankees trying to carry over the burst they found Thursday in a 12-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
That game looked a lot like the kind of offensive night New York has been waiting for. The Yankees had dropped 14 of their previous 18 and were stuck in a miserable stretch at the plate, scoring five runs or fewer in 20 straight games before breaking out against Tampa Bay. Ben Rice did most of the damage, launching two homers as part of a five-RBI night, and New York finished with 14 hits.
“You're fired up that some guys that have been scuffling are putting together really good at-bats,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “Then you're always trying to be greedy and say, ‘Let's keep pushing.'”
Rice’s power surge has become one of the biggest storylines in the Yankees’ lineup. He has 27 and 28 homers on the year after going deep six times in his last nine games.
Ryan McMahon summed up the swing in simple terms: “The guy hits a million homers,” teammate Ryan McMahon said. “He's got a super-short, super-tight swing.
He's putting a lot of energy into that baseball. He's not losing it by getting long, and he's consistent.”
Austin Wells also homered in the win, which allowed New York to split its four-game set with Tampa Bay. The Yankees still trail the Rays by four games in the American League East.
Friday’s opener gives New York left-hander Ryan Weathers, who is 3-7 with a 4.29 ERA, another chance to steady things. He’s been tagged with the loss in five of his last seven starts, including Sunday against the Minnesota Twins, when he allowed four runs on six hits in four innings of a 6-1 defeat. Against Washington in his career, Weathers is 2-1 with a 6.20 ERA in four starts.
The Nationals are going with a different setup on the mound. Left-hander Carson Palmquist, who is 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA, will open, and right-hander Zack Littell, 7-6 with a 5.02 ERA, is lined up for bulk relief.
The pair worked together July 4 against the Pirates, when Washington lost 7-1. Palmquist gave up four runs in one-plus innings, while Littell allowed one run over six innings after entering in the second.
Littell has quietly been more effective lately, giving up two earned runs or fewer in each of his last three appearances. He also has a strong track record against New York, going 3-1 with a 3.99 ERA in five career starts against the Yankees.
Washington comes in with some momentum of its own after taking two of three from the Astros and winning seven of its last 11. The Nationals lead the majors in runs with 508 and stolen bases with 100, and they’ve shown plenty of punch in July already with 18 homers this month.
CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. each reached the 20-homer mark on Wednesday. Abrams matched his career high, while Garcia got there for the first time. Abrams also added two RBIs, pushing his career-best total to 67.
“They put a lot of time, work and effort into getting ready to go for these games and being dialed into the game plan,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “ ... And when they get the pitches they're looking for, they're doing damage.”
James Wood keeps adding to the Nationals’ offensive profile too. He stole his 15th base Wednesday and remains the only player in the majors with 25 homers and 15 steals.
Washington has also shown an eye for the strike zone, drawing 10 walks twice in seven games this month. Abrams put it plainly: “It wins ballgames,” Abrams said.
“We get on base, we hit balls hard and we score runs. We're going to keep that going.”
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Yohandy Morales has done enough at Triple-A to keep forcing the issue, and the numbers are starting to look like those of a hitter who is no longer just knocking on the door. The Nationals prospect is batting .303 with 21 home runs and a .930 OPS, production that stands out even with the usual caveats about contact rate and a ground-ball profile that still need watching.
What has made the conversation harder to ignore is that Morales has also shown signs of tightening up the parts of his game that had been holding him back. His recent strikeout rate has improved, his ball flight has trended in a better direction, and with his Rule 5 eligibility coming this offseason, Washington may soon have to decide how much longer it can keep waiting before making room for him. [Read more 🡒]
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For Washington, the larger question is less about one box score than about how the club balances immediate needs with long-term depth. The minor league results show a system with some momentum in spots and some frustration in others, but the pitching shuffle is the part that matters most at the top level. However the next round of decisions plays out, it figures to say plenty about which arms the Nationals trust to help now and which ones they want to keep close for later. [Read more 🡒]