Instant Analysis: Yankees 5, Nats 3

For the third straight day, the Nationals gave up a late lead to New York. This time, the responsible party wasn't a regular member of the bullpen.

Photo by Billy Sabatini / ALL-PRO REELS

The path they took to get there was slightly modified this afternoon, but the end result looked exactly the same. For the third straight day, the Nationals blew a late lead to the Yankees and lost the game.

Today’s 5-3 loss was made possible when Dylan Crews couldn’t quite haul in Ben Rice’s eighth-inning flyball to the wall in left-center, the tying and go-ahead runs scoring on the double off Andrew Alvarez. New York then added an insurance run in the ninth when Cody Bellinger narrowly scored ahead of Crews’ offline throw, giving Jose Caballero a sacrifice fly.

The Nats went down quietly over the final two innings and suffered a weekend sweep that leaves them a game under .500 (48-49) heading into the All-Star break.

With Alvarez available on full rest heading into the extended break, manager Blake Butera had the left-hander take the mound in relief of Cade Cavalli, hoping three innings from a member of his rotation might be the cure for his team’s bullpen woes. Alvarez would retire the first five batters he faced, but then put two on with two out in the eighth and gave up the long drive to Rice that sent Crews to the base of the wall in left-center. Crews’ leaping attempt as he slammed into the wall came up a few inches short, the ball hitting halfway up and caroming back into play for a two-run double that once again turned a late Nationals lead into a deficit. (This one did not qualify as a blown save, because the game was tied when Alvarez entered.)

For the second straight day, and the 10th time this season, James Wood launched a leadoff homer, this one a towering blast to center field on Will Warren’s 3-2 fastball for a quick 1-0 lead. And Cavalli made that one-run lead hold up through four innings, posting zeros on the scoreboard despite laboring at times.

The Yankees finally got to Cavalli in the fifth, scoring a pair of runs on three hits, but he managed to get through the sixth without surrendering anything else and giving his team a chance in another low-scoring, tight ballgame.

The Nationals got Cavalli off the hook for what would’ve been a tough-luck loss when Curtis Mead pinch-hit for Abimelec Ortiz (who went 1-for-2 with a double in his MLB debut) in the bottom of the sixth and homered off left-hander Tim Hill. And when Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s routine throw to first on Keibert Ruiz’s seventh-inning grounder sailed high, the Nats got the go-ahead run home and once again entrusted a slim lead to their bullpen.

HITTING HIGHLIGHT: The last person on earth who’s ready for a break is Wood, who heads to Philadelphia on an absolute tear. Over his last 10 games, he’s gone 15-for-34 with seven homers, 12 RBI, 16 runs, 15 walks and five strikeouts. His OPS is up to .985. And his 28 first-half home runs are a new club record, eclipsing the 27 homers Alfonso Soriano hit prior to the All-Star break in 2006. (Though it’s important to note Soriano had only played 89 games to Wood’s 97 games.)

PITCHING HIGHLIGHT: Cavalli didn’t look or feel like himself one week ago on a hot, muggy Sunday afternoon in which he lasted only 2 2/3 innings. And he again didn’t look 100 percent on this hot, muggy Sunday afternoon. But the right-hander found a way to grind out six innings while allowing only two runs and keeping his team in the game. Cavalli’s velocity was down just a bit (but not as much as last week). He seemed to purposely take more time between pitches so he could catch his breath. It wasn’t enough to get him beyond the 85-pitch mark, but it was enough to get him through six quality innings before handing the ball to Alvarez. Cavalli ends a solid first half with a 5-4 record, 3.83 ERA, 1.348 WHIP and 110 strikeouts in 98 2/3 innings.

NOTABLE: Robert Hassell III, who was designated for assignment last week, cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Rochester. That means the former top prospect remains in the Nationals organization but is no longer on the 40-man roster.

UP NEXT: It’s the All-Star break, at long last. The Nats don’t have anyone participating in Monday night’s Home Run Derby, but CJ Abrams, James Wood and Foster Griffin will all be in Philadelphia for Tuesday night’s Midsummer Classic. The second half then opens with a West Coast trip, beginning Friday at 9:40 p.m. EDT when the Nationals make their first-ever trip to Sacramento to face the Athletics. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM