Nationals 8, Yankees 6 (10 innings)
WASHINGTON -- First baseman Ryan Zimmerman lined a two-out, two-run homer in the last of the 10th off reliever Andrew Miller as the Washington Nationals beat the New York Yankees 8-6 on Tuesday. It was the first run allowed this year by Miller, who had given up just three hits in his previous 17 games before Zimmerman homered off the foul pole down the right-field line.
Washington catcher Wilson Ramos' solo homer on a 3-0 pitch from David Carpenter had tied the game at 6-6 in the sixth. The hit extended Ramos' hitting streak to 19 games, the longest of his career and the longest current streak in the majors.
The Nationals (23-17) have won nine of their last 11 games while the first-place Yankees (22-18) lost for the seventh time in 11 outings. The winner was Matt Grace (2-0), who pitched a scoreless 10th, while Miller (0-1) was stuck with the loss.
New York reliever Chasen Shreve fanned Washington right fielder Bryce Harper with two on and two outs in the seventh to keep the score tied. Shreve and Harper are good friends who were teammates at the College of Southern Nevada.
Washington shortstop Ian Desmond and third baseman Yunel Escobar each had two hits, as did Yankees shortstop Stephen Drew and first baseman Mark Teixeira.
Wilmer Difo, a top infield prospect in the Nationals system, made his big league debut as he pinch-hit to lead off the seventh against Carpenter. He lined a single up the middle for his first major league hit but was left stranded when Harper fanned.
The Nationals took a 2-0 lead in the first on solo homers by Desmond and Harper. Desmond hit his third homer with one out to right-center and Harper, with two outs, hit a liner to nearly the same spot for his league-leading 15th homer of the season.
It was the 10th homer in the last 12 games for Harper, who increased his RBI total to 38 with the homer off New York starter Nathan Eovaldi.
The Yankees scored four in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead.
Yankees right fielder Chris Young had an RBI single and Chase Headley, the third baseman, doubled into the left-field corner with two outs to drive in Young. After an infield single by second baseman Jose Pirela hit the third bag, Drew lashed a two-run single with the bases loaded.
Teixeira hit a two-run homer in the fifth to give the Yankees a 6-2 lead. It was the first homer in 10 career games at Nationals Park for the first baseman, who has now gone deep in 24 of the 30 current major league parks.
The Nationals scored three in the fifth as pinch-hitter Clint Robinson had an RBI double and Desmond and third baseman Yunel Escobar drove in runs with singles to make it 6-5. The Yankees escaped further damage as reliever Justin Wilson induced a double-play grounder off the bat of Harper to end the frame.
Washington starter Gio Gonzalez retired the first nine batters -- all on groundouts -- before the Yankees connected on four hits in the fourth. Gonzalez was lifted for the pinch-hitter in the fifth after allowing six earned runs and six hits in five innings. Eovaldi gave up seven hits and five runs in 4 1/3 innings.
NOTES: Yankees CF Jacoby Ellsbury left the game after the top of the fourth with a right knee injury. He walked in the top of the fourth and was checked by a head athletic trainer when he reached second base after a groundout. Ellsbury stayed in the game and later scored but then came out of the game before the Nationals batted in the last of the fourth. ... Washington OF Bryce Harper entered the homestand on Tuesday with three homers and nine RBIs with 12 hits in his last 23 at-bats. On Monday, he was named the National League Player of the Week for the second week in a row. ... Washington OF Jayson Werth, hitting .208 with two homers in 101 at-bats, went on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a left wrist contusion after he was hit by a pitch on Friday in San Diego. INF Wilmer Difo was called up from Double-A Harrisburg to fill the roster spot. ... Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira was in the starting lineup after he was hit in the foot with a pitch on Sunday.