Yanks Split With Nats: CC & Didi Heroes, Shreve Goat

On Tuesday night, the Yankees opened a home series with the Washington Nationals. Carsten Charles Sabathia, as has been said in this forum before, is a beast. Manager Aaron Boone took him out after 101 pitches, which only got him into the 6th inning, but he hadn't allowed any runs.

It worked, as the bullpen was strong as well: Chad Green allowed just 1 hit, while Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman allowed none, and none of them walked a batter.

Didi Gregorius hit a home run in the 2nd inning, followed by a walk by Aaron Hicks, a single by Neil Walker that got Hicks to 3rd base, and a sacrifice fly by Austin Romine, which made it 2-0 Yankees. Didi led off the bottom of the 6th with another homer.

Yankees 3, Nationals 0. WP: Sabathia (4-1). SV: Aroldis Chapman (18). LP: Tanner Roark (3-7).

Bryce Harper, whose contract with the Nats runs out after this season, was twice hit by pitches. Is that going to make him want to sign with the Yankees? Come to think of it, he's a right fielder. We already have Aaron Judge to play that position. And we're not exactly lacking in power hitters. So should we sign him? In each case, I use Harper's best-known quote: "That's a clown question, bro."

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The Nats struck back on Wednesday night, the makeup of a rained-out game. Sonny Gray started, and allowed a run in the top of the 1st. The Yankees tied it in the bottom of the 1st, got a Greg Bird home run in the 2nd, and another run in the 3rd, to make it 3-1.

In the top of the 4th, Juan Soto hit a home run for the Nationals. This is noteworthy because Soto, a 19-year-old Dominican who has gotten off to a great start, was not in the Nats' starting lineup when it was announced for this game, before its postponement. He was still in the minor leagues at the time. In other words, had this game been played as intended, he wouldn't have been eligible for it.

Shades of the 1979 game between the New Jersey Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers, which the Nets had protested, gotten it upheld, had the game set back to the point of the protest, and restarted, but, in the meantime, the teams had made a trade, and so guys played for both teams in the same game, and it was legal.

Anyway, that homer made it 4-3 Nats. Gleyber Torres tied it with a homer in the 5th, but Aaron Boone took Gray out after 5, and brought in Chasen Shreve. Why would you bring Chasen Shreve in to pitch a game you wanted to win? Shreve gave up another homer to Soto in the 7th.

Nationals 5, Yankees 4. WP: Justin Miller (4-0). SV: Sean Doolittle (18). LP: Shreve (2-1).

Shreve has become the new Ted Lilly, Phil Coke, Jeff Weaver, Scott Proctor, Boone Logan and Tyler Clippard: He might be a nice guy, but he should never be brought in to pitch for the Yankees.

I do not include Kyle Farnsworth in that list, because, as we saw, Farnsworth is not a nice person.