Gleyber sparks Yanks' comeback vs. Nats

Gleyber Torres celebrated an anniversary of sorts this week, acknowledging the four years that have passed since his trade to the Yankees. Having referred to that 2016 swap as “one of the best things that has happened to me,” the standout infielder threw his own party on Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park.

Torres blasted a seventh-inning homer and delivered a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth as part of a three-hit performance, leading the Yankees to a 3-2 victory over the Nationals. New York took two of three games in the season-opening series against the defending World Series champions.

“After the first hit, I felt a little bit more confidence,” Torres said. “The first couple games, I was feeling too excited. Today, I just tried to do the same as I always do; I tried to put the ball in play and I got an opportunity to help the team. I think I did my job.”

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Washington left-hander Patrick Corbin had stymied the Bombers through six frames, economically retiring 18 of the first 19 batters. Torres was the outlier, having snapped the string with a fourth-inning single, and the 23-year-old shattered Corbin’s shutout bid in the seventh with a 403-foot homer to left field.

“He’s been clicking; he hit a couple balls on the screws in the first two games,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Torres. “It’s just a good player getting some good pitches to hit and doing some damage today. It’s really good to see him set the tone for us offensively.”

As Torres recounted this week, he was traded by the Cubs on July 25, 2016, the centerpiece of a five-player trade that sent closer Aroldis Chapman to Chicago. Chapman helped the Cubs snap a 108-year title drought, but the Yankees considered themselves winners by obtaining a bright talent in Torres, a move compounded when they later re-signed Chapman as a free agent.

“It's an honor to me to be here with a great organization,” Torres said. “I feel proud for that opportunity. I feel like this is my family every day, coming to the ballpark with all my teammates. I'm working really hard to be part of the history.”

Torres’ homer chased Corbin, despite the left-hander having thrown only 75 pitches. Facing reliever Will Harris, Luke Voit tied the game at 2 two batters later, cracking a solo homer into the left-field seats.

“Corbin was dealing; he was effective on both sides [of the plate],” Voit said. “It was nice to finally get that monkey off our back and get going. We were waiting for Gleyber to break out, and today he finally broke out in a clutch way. It was nice to get Corbin out of the game and get into their bullpen.”

As a free agent two offseasons ago, Corbin visited Yankee Stadium for a meet and greet, but the Yanks were unwilling to match a six-year offer from the Nationals -- money they’d later spend on Gerrit Cole. Corbin earned a ring last year but settled for a no-decision on Sunday, despite a sterling eight-strikeout, no-walk effort.

"They’ve got some power hitters in that lineup,” Corbin said. “You know they’re out there swinging, so you have to be on your game. One mistake can lead to a homer.”

Torres’ go-ahead hit came off Sean Doolittle, but the shortstop committed a one-out throwing error on a Trea Turner grounder in the home half of the eighth. Reliever Tommy Kahnle and catcher Gary Sánchez agreed to use his stellar changeup heavily to escape, striking out Eric Thames to pin the bases loaded.

“Any time one of our guys makes an error, I'm always trying to give them something like, ‘Hey, you got this, it's OK,’” Kahnle said. “What I really wanted is for him to get the next ball and turn a double play. Errors are part of the game.”

With the Yankees keeping a rotation slot open for Masahiro Tanaka’s envisioned return on Friday, Boone tabbed Jonathan Loaisiga for a spot start. The right-hander appeared shaky early but settled in, limiting Washington to one run and two hits over three innings.

“When he's on with his game, he can go through any lineup,” Boone said. “That's why we like him starting out sometimes in these situations, because we know he can give us a few innings. Today, it was just what we needed.”

Turner’s third-inning homer off Loaisiga provided the Nats with a lead, and Thames contributed a run-scoring single facing David Hale in the fourth. Adam Ottavino and Chad Green combined for three scoreless innings in relief, allowing Torres and the Yanks time to catch up.

Zack Britton worked around a hit and a walk in the ninth, helped when pinch-runner Emilio Bonifácio was thrown out attempting to steal third base for the first out of the inning. It marked Britton’s first save as interim closer, with Chapman having opened the season on the COVID-19 injured list.

“That was a huge comeback by our guys,” Britton said. “I wanted to make sure that I shut it down and got a win. I’m glad to get that one out of the way.”