WASHINGTON — Aaron Decide made up a brand new rule Monday night time: If he doesn’t hit a house run, his opponents don’t get to both — a minimum of not on his watch.
The Nationals did the seemingly unattainable and saved Decide within the park, so the Yankees heart fielder returned the favor by dropping jaws along with his glove.
Decide made a leaping seize whereas operating into the left-center area wall that turned a possible game-tying dwelling run right into a double play, highlighting the Yankees’ 5-2 win over the Nationals within the sequence opener at Nationals Park.
Whereas Decide remained at 51 dwelling runs, after homering seven instances in his earlier six video games earlier than Monday, his defensive gem (which robbed former Yankees prospect Andres Chaparro earlier than he doubled off James Wooden at first base to finish the fourth inning of a 2-0 sport) turned the most recent addition to his seemingly AL MVP spotlight reel.
By the tip of the night time, Decide additionally picked up his 1,000th profession hit with a single laced the opposite manner.
“To have a man on the market that may climb the partitions and catch balls that could be going out, it’s simply one other plus to a man who does all of it,” mentioned Austin Wells, who added to the sturdy defensive night time total by selecting off a runner at second base earlier than hitting his tenth dwelling run of the yr. “It’s actually particular to observe.”
The Yankees (78-54) obtained solo dwelling runs from Gleyber Torres, Wells and Jazz Chisholm Jr. to win for the fifth time of their final six video games, keep the perfect file within the American League and lengthen their AL East result in two video games over the idle Orioles.
Anthony Volpe additionally turned in a three-hit sport and scored twice on sacrifice flies from DJ LeMahieu.
Decide’s thievery was a part of the sturdy defensive effort that helped Nestor Cortes restrict the Nationals (59-73) to only one run over 6 ²/₃ innings.
Alex Verdugo, who put collectively a three-hit sport, additionally made a terrific catch whereas operating into the left area wall with a runner on second base within the second inning.
He jammed his proper knee into the wall on the play however obtained checked out by trainers — he mentioned it was only a contusion — and performed the remainder of the sport.
“Anyone mentioned I had room after which I may need heard ‘wall’ on the finish,” Verdugo mentioned with a chuckle. “Then I caught it and went to look and it was a face stuffed with wall.”
Decide one-upped Verdugo two innings later, taking away a house run that may have tied the sport.
“Dugie actually set the tone earlier by principally operating by one other wall,” Decide mentioned. “As a teammate, you gotta go on the market and match that vitality. … To assist [Cortes] on the market and get one again, have somewhat double play there, I used to be fairly pumped up about that one.”
So have been his teammates.
“When he jumped and caught it, I used to be nearly shocked somewhat bit,” Wells mentioned. “I used to be like holy … cow. That was loopy.”
Cortes carried a shutout into the seventh inning earlier than Juan Yepez snapped it with a solo dwelling run.
Earlier than then, Cortes had thrown 20 ¹/₃ consecutive scoreless innings, serving to himself out within the sixth by putting out three after placing runners on second and third to begin the body.
“Super,” Cortes mentioned of his protection. “I don’t suppose I’m going as lengthy within the sport as I did if it wasn’t for these superb catches that have been made on the market.”
Torres led off the sport along with his second dwelling run in as many days earlier than Volpe doubled and scored on LeMahieu’s first sacrifice fly within the fourth inning.
After Wells made it 3-0 along with his homer to guide off the sixth, Volpe singled up the center and hustled into second on a bobble, however gave the Yankees a scare when his helmet-less head collided with the knee of shortstop CJ Abrams at second base.
However he additionally remained within the sport after getting checked out by a coach, then stole third and scored on one other sac fly from LeMahieu.
Chisholm made it 5-1 within the eighth by crushing his twenty first dwelling run of the season — his eighth in 18 video games as a Yankee — off lefty reliever Joe La Sorsa.
And even on an evening when Decide didn’t go deep, he helped the Yankees win along with his protection, along with his supervisor calling his catch his “52nd homer of the yr.”
“He’s actually good at these things,” supervisor Aaron Boone mentioned. “The night time they hold him within the ballpark, he takes one again from the opposite aspect. Just a bit reminder of what number of different issues he does effectively.”
