Yankees Takeaways: Late Heroics Give the Yankees a win in D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The Yankees won 5-3 against the Nationals in the series opener. It was a game the Yankees had control of until their bullpen came in and blew the lead and took control late with some heroics by the Yankees' offense.

David Bednar gave the Yankees six big outs as he continues his dominance.

Weathers' Start

Ryan Weathers looked good today in his outing against a relentless, powerful Nationals lineup. Weathers pitched 5.1 innings, striking out six and allowing just one run. His defense did not help him in the game, which seems to be a common theme these days for the Yankees. The defensive gaffes, while not leading to Nationals runs, did cost him pitches that could have benefited him in the later part of the outing.

Weathers did not throw many fastballs in the outing, which has been a pitch he's struggled with this season, and the Nationals hit well. Weathers did not issue a walk, which is also a big deal. Weathers seemed to have a better feel for a lot of his pitches in the outing.

Hill's Outing

Tim Hill has struggled this season, and those struggles showed up today against the Nationals. Hill came in to protect a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning. He had one out and an 0-2 count on catcher Keibert Ruiz when he took a slider out to left field to tie the game. The next pitch to young star James Wood also left the park to give the Nationals a 3-2 lead.

Hill has not given up fly balls much this season, but he did today. Hill was pulled mid-at-bat with Dylan Crews at the plate for Jake Bird, who finished the inning without allowing any more damage. Hill has been an issue for the Yankees in some spots this season, and high leverage is one of them.

The Offense

The at-bats were better today. The results were the same. The Yankees' scoring came on two home runs, one off the bat of Ben Rice, who is getting ready for the Home Run Derby, and the other off the bat of Jasson Dominguez. Right before that ball was hit out, Cody Bellinger was caught stealing, or it would have been a two-run lead.

The Yankees did strike out a lot more than they should have in this game, considering that bulk reliever Zach Littell has one of the lower strikeout rates in baseball.

The Yankees offense woke up in the top of the ninth, scoring three runs against the Nationals bullpen on home runs by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Austin Wells. The Yankees punished mistakes in the top of the ninth and it proved to be the difference in the game.

The Yankees have now won two in a row.

Tomorrow, the Yankees will send out Cam Schlittler against the Nats' offense that is very good against fastballs. Should be an interesting outing for the young all-star. The Yankees will face Miles Mikolas. First pitch is at 4:05pm on YES.