Yankees win final spring training match over Nationals 6-3

The Yankees won on Thursday, defeating the defending champion Washington Nationals 6-3 on the road. It was scheduled to be just past the halfway mark for spring training for New York, who has had some decent performances despite a rash of injuries.

That is no longer the case, however, as the developing situation in the country surrounding COVID-19 has prompted MLB to cancel the remainder of spring training and delay the start of the season. We’ve got a main story for that news here. As for this game, that means that this will be our final spring training recap for this year. I hope you’ve all enjoyed the format we’ve used to present the recaps, and hopefully we will have real baseball to recap sooner rather than later.

Game Highlights

• Jonathan Loaisiga got the start for the Yankees, turning in one final performance that should net him a spot on the eventual major-league roster. Loaisiga pitched three innings today, and his only mistake of the game came in a 2-1 count to Victor Robles that got driven to left field for a solo shot. Overall it’s been an impressive camp for Loaisiga, and he’s at least qualified to pitch as a reliever this year.
• The Yankees fell behind early, but took the lead for good in the fifth inning. Clint Frazier led off with a double off of Carter Kieboom’s glove at third that rocketed into left field. Chris Iannetta followed up with a double of his own to score Frazier, and then Tyler Wade launched a two-run home run to right. In three at-bats, the Yankees turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead.
• The Yankees got some insurance runs in the eighth, and they paid dividends. Zack Granite picked up a one-out double to start things, and scored on a single from Thomas Milone. Milone was brought home on an Estevan Florial double, and then Florial scored on a single from Trey Amburgey. Albert Abreu did end up giving the Nationals a run in the ninth inning, but the Nationals didn’t have enough left to threaten the Yankee lead.
• Nick Tropeano and David Hale mopped up the remaining innings between Loaisiga and Abreu. Both pitched fine — tossing two and three innings respectively — but the abrupt ending to spring may have hurt their chances at breaking camp with the team. It’ll be interesting to see the Yankees’ decision making with the arms that they have, as several spots are up for grabs still.

It’s unclear exactly when the season will actually begin, as the two week delay that MLB has instituted is just a minimum delay currently. Regardless, we’ll be on watch for any news for when the season will begin, so stay tuned for updates.

Box Score.