By Alex Garrett (7-10-2026)
A six out win by the Yankees closer, David Bednar; 9th inning heroics from Jazz Chisholm, Jr. and Austin Wells; a manager using his gut instead of analytics to get the Yanks through to a major win. And this was just a random night in July in our Nation’s Capital the weekend before the Midsummer Classic .
But , boy, does it feel like a taste of October baseball! How hungry have Yankee fans been to see the bats break out, the pitching hold and an actual win streak start to build.
I don’t usually write as much during the season because I leave that up to the greats of Bryan Hoch , Joel Sherman and Mike Vaccaro. I also like to see how the season unfolds before writing a lot on the team I love and the sport I love. But to not write about a turnaround win like this would be regretful!
Side note: My Knicks piece will be written after FanaticsFest, TRUST THAT!
Back to tonight. After Ben Rice launched his 29th home run the opposite way, the Yanks maintained a lead until Tim Hill gave it up on back-to-back dingers in the bottom of the 7th to Ruiz and Wood of the Nationals.
While the Yankees fans were saying here we go again, Aaron Boone made the wisest decision of the entire season and put in David Bednar to hold. And hold he did retiring the Nats in the 8th , setting up the chance for the Yanks to make a come back in the top of the 9th. Let’s look at this decision though. A mid-July game with the Yanks already on verge of being 5 games back of the Rays , this decision wasn’t analytics, it was Boone’s gut! When he follows his gut, he does manage well, I have to say! This decision also gave us a playoff feel under a hot summer night sky in DC.
What ensued next also had a flavor of playoff dramatics. With one out and Jasson Dominguez drawing a walk, Jazz Chisholm, Jr. stepped up to the plate . With the count 1-1, Chisholm, Jr. got a hold of one and all of sudden the REPBX community could exhale because JAZZ CAME THROUGH WITH A 2 RUN SHOT TO DEEP RIGHT! Following that up was Austin Wells who has been dormant most of the year (and not exactly completely healthy either ) and hits an insurance home run and his second in as many nights! Bednar came out in the 9th and delivered a 1-2-3 to close the door on a Nats team that does have a winning record, by the way!
A heating up Wells and Chisholm could prove dangerous for this team still piecing it together without Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
While everyone will talk about tonight’s major comeback to i think turn around the season, this week has been a turnaround week.
After the Yanks struck out 17 times in two games vs Tampa, a series of events seemingly snapped them back into shape . An article came out that Anthony Volpe was not willing to play a different position in his minor league stint, and he passionately defended his work ethic and passion for being on the Yankees and in this organization. He called the rumors started by Michael Kay , ‘BS’. (https://nypost.com/2026/07/08/sports/anthony-volpe-hits-back-at-rumors-of-yankees-position-switch-drama/)
Then you look at the game that night (Wednesday night) Boone and bench coach Brad Ausmus get tossed in yet another ugly loss for the Yanks. Maybe that lit a fire under this team.
As they stared down a possible 3 out of 4 series loss to the Rays, the bats came alive scoring 12 runs including 2 home runs for Ben Rice, an Austin Wells jack and a 6 run third inning for the Bronx Bombers. I truly believe a dominating win to split with the Rays gave them confidence not to give up in DC.
As we roll into and out of the All Star Break, you’ll also see the performances of those struggling uptick with trade rumors lingering. Particularly at catcher and shortstop. I also think as more heat gets placed on Aaron Boone he will manage with his gut and not the analytics department. Tonight was the first step in that direction!
As I write this following the Yanks majorly needed come-from-behind win on July 10th, 2026, I think there could be an even bigger comeback in this division that might propel them the rest of the way into October.
And if I’m right, I’ll reference this very article on every platform I have . And if I’m wrong? Well at least I won’t regret writing it!
OneLegUpAlex 