NEW YORK -- Nationals right-hander Josiah Gray -- a native of New Rochelle, N.Y. -- grew up a Yankees fan. Derek Jeter was his favorite player.

Gray’s most memorable moment as a fan of the Bronx Bombers, however, came in 2003, when his father woke him up screaming with excitement that Aaron Boone -- now the Yankees’ manager -- hit the game-winning home run in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series to defeat the Red Sox and advance New York to the World Series.

“That’s probably the most vivid memory I have,” Gray said. “Growing up watching Jeter, [Robinson] Canó, A-Rod [Alex Rodriguez] -- the list goes on -- I really loved coming here when I could.”

Twenty years later, Gray had a full-circle moment, finding himself on the mound at Yankee Stadium during the Nationals’ 2-1 victory on Tuesday night. He ended up with a no-decision, but shortstop CJ Abrams broke a 1-1 tie with a solo home run off reliever Tommy Kahnle in the eighth inning to give Washington the lead for good.

Gray pitched six innings and allowed one run on one hit, a homer by Ben Rortvedt in the third inning. It wasn’t his best outing as he walked five batters, but he was able to get key outs. In the fifth inning, New York had runners on first and second with one out, but Gray struck out Aaron Judge and induced Gleyber Torres to ground into a forceout to end the threat.

“I felt like he was struggling a little bit out there with his command,” Boone said. “Looked like a handful of times, there were some pitches that backed up on him, bad pitches that turn into good pitches sometimes. But essentially, it came down to him struggling a little bit with his command but being able to make a pitch to get out of an inning to avoid any trouble and ultimately get deep in the game and give it to his back-end guys.”

For Gray, it meant a lot to pitch in a stadium that has produced players like Judge and Jeter.

“To be able to pitch [against] the team that I rooted for, to be able to pitch in front of friends and family is something to be excited for and proud about,” Gray said. “I had a lot of people today. I threw a pretty good outing for them. I was definitely looking forward to this outing.

“I battled command, obviously, today. My stuff wasn’t great, but I was able to get out of jams. I have to get back to the drawing board, continue to pound the strike zone. Being able to get out of jams is part of pitching. … It’s about keeping those guys out there and giving them a chance. I was able to do that today.”

Before the game, Gray walked around Monument Park. The memories of going to Yankee Stadium as a kid flooded back.

“I remember sitting in the 400 level and just thinking big leaguers were so cool,” Gray said. “I always had that feeling of, I don’t know if I would ever be close to those guys or talk to those guys, but here I am now as a big leaguer. It makes you appreciate what you have. I dreamed of doing this as a kid. Here I am at Yankee Stadium. I can’t really put it into words. It was awesome to go out there to fulfill a childhood dream.”

Since Gray revealed that he was a Yankees fan growing up, is he sad that the Yankees have lost nine straight games?

“I think that fandom goes away when you join the professional ranks,” Gray said. “Yeah, they are scuffling a little bit. But they can turn it around as quickly as any other team. [The Nationals] want to go out there and take care of what we can take care of and lead our team to a victory.”

The Nationals are 22-14 since the All-Star break. The victories have come thanks to young players such as Gray and Abrams, who are building blocks for the future.

“I think we can compete with anybody. We showed that over the last month and a half. We want to keep it going,” Gray said. “… We have been playing like a team. … It’s really fun and just coming here knowing we have a chance to upset the standings a little bit and kind of make a name for ourselves. We are excited to come every day to the ballpark and see what we can do -- continue to develop, just work as a team and become better baseball players every day.”