Manager Aaron Boone was impressed with New York’s power surge. “That was some banging right there,” Boone said following Wednesday’s onslaught, per the New York Daily News’ Gary Phillips.
Six Yankees players went deep against the Nationals in the win. Trent Grisham got New York on the board with a leadoff shot in the bottom of the first. But the Yankees exploded with four bombs in the third inning.
Aaron Judge hit a two-run blast and Cody Bellinger went back-to-back with the reigning MVP. Later in the inning Ryan McMahon delivered a three-run homer, just his second deep ball since joining the Yankees prior to the trade deadline. And Ben Rice launched a solo dinger, his second of the series and 22nd of the season.
Yankees outscore Nationals 26-8 in three-game sweep
After three innings, New York handed starting pitcher Max Fried a 10-0 lead. The team batted around in the third, sending 15 hitters to the plate.
Austin Wells led off the fourth inning with his 18th homer of the season, putting the Yankees up 11-0. It was the last run New York would score but it was all the team needed. Fried allowed just one run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts over seven innings, earning his 14th win.
Bellinger’s home run placed the 2025 Yankees in exclusive company. His 410-foot solo dong was his 25th of the season. With it, New York’s outfield of Grisham (26), Judge (41) and Bellinger all have at least 25 homers this year. The last time a trio of Yankees outfielders accomplished the feat was in 1941.
That season, Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Keller and Tommy Henrich all finished with at least 30 bombs. DiMaggio had his legendary 56-game hit streak and won AL MVP. And the Yankees went on to win the World Series.
This year New York lost its hold on the division, falling behind the Toronto Blue Jays during a midseason swoon. But the Yankees are heating up again, winning four straight games and going 11-4 over their last 15 contests.
New York trails Toronto by four games in the AL East. Even if the Yankees can’t catch the Blue Jays they’re likely to clinch a Wild Card berth and could be a tough out if the power surge continues.
