Yankees win 5-3, sweep 3 games from the Nationals despite trailing after 7 innings in each

By: Noah Trister, The Associated Press Posted: 4:03 PM CDT Sunday, Jul. 12, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ben Rice hit a two-run triple in the top of the eighth inning to give the New York Yankees their third straight come-from-behind victory over the Washington Nationals, 5-3 on Sunday.

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New York, which has won four in a row overall for the first time since June 13-17, completed a three-game sweep in which it overcame one deficit in the ninth inning and two in the eighth.

The Yankees tied the White Sox with their eighth win when trailing in the eighth inning or later for the most such victories in the American League.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Will Warren throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Sunday July 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

With men on first and second against Andrew Alvarez (2-3), Rice hit a drive on the fourth straight curveball from Alvarez that center fielder Dylan Crews was unable to catch while slamming into the wall.

Both runners scored, making it 4-3 and putting Ryan Yarbrough (2-0) in line for the win. Paul Blackburn returned the final six Washington batters for his first save.

José Caballero hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth to give New York a two-run lead.

The Yankees are 6-34 when trailing after seven innings, with half of the wins coming in this series.

James Wood led off the bottom of the first with a home run, and Curtis Mead also homered for Washington. Wood’s 28th homer of the year was also his 10th leadoff shot, breaking the Nationals’ record he shared with Alfonso Soriano, who hit nine in 2006.

Cody Bellinger led off the fifth with a double for the Yankees and scored on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s single. After a wild pitch moved Chisholm to second, Austin Wells hit a two-out RBI single to make it 2-1.

Mead came up as a pinch-hitter and homered in the sixth to tie it. Chisholm’s throwing error with two outs in the seventh allowed a run to score, giving the Nationals a 3-2 advantage.

Washington’s Cade Cavalli allowed two runs and four hits in six innings in his first start since serving a five-game suspension for his role in a bench-clearing incident in Boston on June 30.