Nats rookies rough up Gerrit Cole in victory over Yankees

WASHINGTON — Dylan Crews got the first two hits of his career and Andrés Chaparro and José Tena hit back-to-back homers on a banner night for Washington’s rookies as the Nationals ambushed Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees 4-2 on Tuesday.
Aaron Judge doubled in the first inning but remained stuck on 51 homers for the AL-best Yankees. He came up with the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth against reliever Jacob Barnes but grounded into a double play on a 3-1 pitch to score New York’s first run. After hitting two longballs Sunday against Colorado, Judge is 2 for 7 with two walks in two games at Washington.
Patrick Corbin (4-12) outpitched Cole, using superb command to quiet the Yankees’ powerful lineup. The veteran left-hander allowed two hits and struck out six in six innings, his second and longest scoreless outing of the season.
“He really worked that cutter, I think, to both sides of the plate well. Worked it down and in, in off the plate a little bit,” Judge said. “He was able to get ahead in the count and put pressure on us as hitters.”
After Corbin issued a two-out walk to Judge in the sixth on his 100th pitch, manager Dave Martinez walked to the mound and the Nationals’ bullpen cart emerged from beyond the center-field fence to transport a reliever, but Corbin stayed in the game and retired Giancarlo Stanton on a popup.
“He was like, ‘Yeah, this is your game to finish,'” Corbin said. “I was feeling good, wanted to finish my inning there. That was a cool feeling.”
Kyle Finnegan allowed Anthony Volpe’s RBI grounder in the ninth and then gave up back-to-back singles before retiring the next two batters for his 33rd save in 37 opportunities.
Crews lined a 2-0 cutter from Cole (5-3) off the base of the wall in left field for a 104.4 mph double in the second. The third-ranked prospect in baseball, who went 0 for 3 in his major league debut a night earlier, raised his arms and swiveled his hips while standing on the bag as the crowd cheered. Crews’ hit moved Tena to third, and Joey Gallo followed with an RBI grounder.
“It felt great. Just get that first one out of the way and kind of sit back and breathe a little bit, take it all in,” Crews said. “It was an awesome moment.”
In the sixth, Crews hit a dribbler off reliever Tim Mayza for an infield single and advanced to second on catcher Jose Trevino’s throwing error. The rookie stole third and scored when first baseman DJ LeMahieu booted Gallo’s grounder, the third of New York’s four errors.
“I think overall, the lineup itself, we did a really good job facing off against a great pitcher like Gerrit Cole,” Crews said. “We had an idea, each one of us going up to the plate, and we executed it well. So it was a good day.”
The Nationals started five rookies, and Gallo was the only player in their lineup who debuted before 2020. The former Yankee was also the lone Washington batter who had faced Cole before.
But last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner left some pitches over the middle of the plate and Washington took advantage. Chaparro led off the fourth by lofting a high fastball over the wall in left field for his first career homer, and Tena followed with a drive to right-center.
A day earlier, Chaparro hit a deep drive to center field but was robbed of a homer by the 6-foot-7 Judge.
“As soon as I hit the ball, I knew it was gone. And luckily, Aaron Judge wasn’t close to it,” Chaparro said through a translator.
Cole, who did not allow a run in either of his previous two starts, gave up three runs on six hits — four for extra bases — in five innings.
“Had good stuff. Pretty good command,” Cole said. “But ultimately, you know, they beat me today.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: RHP Luis Gil (lower back strain) threw live batting practice. … 1B Anthony Rizzo homered in a rehab game for Double-A Somerset.
Nationals: For the second straight night, Martinez had a nosebleed that forced him to skip his postgame media availability.
UP NEXT
New York’s Carlos Rodón (14-8, 4.16 ERA) opposes MacKenzie Gore (7-11, 4.51) in a matchup of left-handers when the series concludes on Wednesday night.