NEW YORK — The Washington Nationals had hoped defensive performances such as the dismal display they put on in the second inning Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium were behind them. But a young team amid one of its best stretches of the season regressed in the Bronx on a night Aaron Judge blasted three home runs and Stone Garrett suffered an ugly leg injury in the outfield.
A mistake-ridden second inning made for a short night for MacKenzie Gore in a 9-1 loss as the Yankees snapped a nine-game losing streak.
The outcome was long decided when DJ LeMahieu hit a drive to right. Garrett tracked the ball to the wall, leaped and, as the ball found the first row of seats, appeared to catch his left cleat in the padding. Garrett fell to the ground, writhing on the warning track as teammates ran to comfort him. A tearful Garrett had his left leg placed in an aircast as he was taken from the field on the back of a cart.
“You never want to see anybody get hurt,” Manager Dave Martinez said. “When he went down like that, my heart dropped. He was out there wincing. He was pretty hurt. Hopefully he’s okay.”
Garrett was in the clubhouse after the game with his leg wrapped. He was assisted by athletic trainer Paul Lessard. Martinez said the team was waiting on the results of Garrett’s X-rays at the stadium and was expected to get an MRI exam either late Wednesday night or Thursday.
The injury made for a somber clubhouse. Gore, whose locker is next to Garrett’s at Nationals Park, choked up during his session with reporters, at one point stopping to fight back tears.
“Just one of those situations it just sucks to see. Pray for him,” Gore said.
Garrett, 27, signed with the Nationals this offseason after making his major league debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022. He started to find success at the plate recently, forcing his way into Martinez’s lineup, even against a righty such as Yankees starter Luis Severino. Garrett was 0 for 2 with a walk Wednesday and was hitting .269 with nine homers, 40 RBI and .800 OPS in 234 at-bats.
“That goes into what it’s like seeing him like that,” outfielder Lane Thomas said. “Knowing how good of a dude he is and how hard he works. It makes it that much harder to see.”
“A great season,” CJ Abrams said. “No one wants to see that. It just hurt watching. I just hope he gets better soon.”
The Nationals trailed 1-0 entering the second inning after Judge sent a hanging curveball from Gore over the home bullpen in center field in the first. It only got worse in the following frame.
Harrison Bader singled to open the inning and made it to third with one out. The Nationals brought the infield in, a move that appeared to pay off when Everson Pereira hit a groundball to Abrams. But Abrams one-hopped his throw to catcher Keibert Ruiz, who couldn’t handle it, allowing Bader to score.
The ensuing at-bat, Kyle Higashioka hit a pop up to right-center field. Thomas and Garrett converged, each calling for the ball. At the last moment, Thomas ducked out of the way and the ball bounced off Garrett’s glove.
Instead of being out of the inning, Gore had just one out and runners on second and third. Gore walked the following batter, Oswald Peraza. And two hitters later, Judge launched his second home run of the game — this one a grand slam that landed on the netting above Monument Park in center. The Yankees led 6-0.
“Just left some pitches over the plate to a good hitter,” Gore said. “Tough inning. Just a tough day for us. . . . Just trying to win the series tomorrow.”
Giancarlo Stanton, the ninth hitter to bat in the second, hit a routine groundball to Abrams that should have ended the inning again. But Abrams let the ball get under his glove. Abrams looked between his legs, then up at Gore as the ball rolled toward left fielder Blake Rutherford. He seemed dumbfounded.
Gore got Bader to pop out to second to end the inning 40 pitches after it began. By the time he trotted to the visiting dugout, the left-hander had thrown 55 pitches on the night. And though he retired the final seven batters that he faced, Gore’s outing was finished after four innings. He allowed six runs, only two of which were earned.
Severino, who entered his start Wednesday with a 7.98 ERA, gave up one hit over 6⅔ innings — a fourth-inning single to Ruiz. Dominic Smith added a home run with two outs in the ninth.
Martinez repeats regularly to his young players that they can’t afford to give opposing teams extra outs. On Wednesday night, even before they suffered a tough injury, they had already handed the Yankees three of them, and the home team made the Nationals pay.
“It’s baseball,” Abrams said. “Things didn’t go our way that inning, and it happens.”
Here’s what else to know about the Nationals’ loss:
Injury updates
Carl Edwards Jr. has a stress fracture in his right scapula and will be shut down indefinitely. Edwards didn’t feel like himself following his second rehab appearance for high Class A Wilmington on Saturday and got an MRI exam that revealed the injury. Edwards had been placed on the 15-day injured list June 21 with right shoulder inflammation. Before going down with an injury, he had a 3.69 ERA in 32 appearances this season.
Edwards, 31, entered this season as a potential trade candidate for the Nationals because he was eligible for free agency following the season. Edwards finished with a 2.76 ERA in 52 appearances last season, returning to form after struggling with injuries and bouncing around the major leagues for a few seasons. Now he will head to free agency while rehabbing from his latest injury.
Tanner Rainey threw 19 pitches in his third rehab assignment Tuesday night for Class AA Harrisburg. Thaddeus Ward will make a rehab start for Wilmington on Thursday after rehabbing from right shoulder inflammation. Ward, the team’s Rule 5 pick from in December, was used out of the bullpen to open the year. The goal for his start Thursday is to pitch four innings.