WASHINGTON (AP) — Gleyber Torres hit a home run in the opening game, Aaron Judge made a spectacular defensive play and the New York Yankees beat Washington 5-2 on Monday night to blow the win. the Major League debut of promising Nationals talent Dylan Crews.

Judge added his 1,000th hit as New York won for the fifth time in six games, moving two clear of idle Baltimore atop the AL East. Austin Wells and Jazz Chisholm Jr. also went deep for the Yankees in support of Nestor Cortes (8-10).

Anthony Volpe had a double and two singles, scored twice on sacrifice flies by DJ LeMahieu. Alex Verdugo also had three hits.

“Coming off the home game, starting the road trip, getting an early hit, that was great,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Torres’ home run. “He’s obviously doing a great job at leadoff. I feel like he doesn’t give up his aggression in that first at-bat, but he’s also got a lot of long, patient at-bats. That was a good hit to give us a lead.”

Crews, the third-best prospect in baseball, batted second for Washington and went 0 for 3 with a walk. He struck out with two runners in scoring position in the sixth.

The prized outfielder was selected second overall in last year’s draft after being drafted out of LSU.

“It was a great feeling to be out there for the first time and compete with the guys,” Crews said. “Obviously we didn’t win today, but we’re going to go all out tomorrow.”

Torres hit his second home run in two games — his first two in August — to lead off the first inning. His 12th homer of the year was a 366-foot line drive down the left-field line off Mitchell Parker for his second leadoff homer of the season.

Torres has reached base safely in 21 consecutive games, one shy of the longest streak of his career set in 2019.

Wells hit his 10th homer off reliever Tanner Rainey in the sixth. Chisholm added his 21st of the season in the eighth.

Clay Holmes worked a perfect ninth for his 28th save. The Yankees have won 42 road games this year, the most in the majors.

Judge singled to right field in the ninth inning for his 1,000th hit, becoming the 42nd Yankees player to reach the milestone and the first since Brett Gardner in 2017.

“It’s a great accomplishment,” Judge said. “It’s a blessing to have been in this game long enough to reach that milestone — but there’s still more work to be done.”

The star slugger also made a sensational catch off the left-center wall to rob cleanup hitter Andrés Chaparro of a home run. Judge and Torres then doubled James Wood at first on a stunning relay to end the fourth inning.

“Judge, we’re calling it his 52nd home run of the year,” Boone said. “He’s really good at this. The night they keep him in the ballpark, he gets one back on the other side. Just a little reminder of how many other things he does well.”

Cortes (8-10) allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 6 2/3 innings on 91 pitches. He thwarted the Nationals’ best chance to get back into the game by striking out the side in the sixth, including Chaparro to end the inning.

“I was able to execute really well down and away for that at-bat,” Cortes said. “I don’t think I would have stayed in the game as long as I did if it wasn’t for those great catches that were made there.”

Parker (7-8) allowed two runs and five hits in four innings, striking out five.

Juan Yepez and Jacob Young hit home runs for the Nationals, who have lost eight of 12 games.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: Rookie RHP Luis Gil (lower back injury) threw a bullpen on Sunday. The team was still determining whether his next move would be live batting practice or a rehab game. … RHP Ian Hamilton will throw a bullpen on Tuesday. Hamilton was placed on the 60-day injured list on Monday when New York claimed OF Duke Ellis from the Seattle Mariners, but Boone said that was “just a formality” and “doesn’t change anything” for Hamilton. … Verdugo bumped his knee making a big catch in the second but remained in the game. He said afterward it was just a bruise and that he was OK.

Nationals: RHP Josiah Gray (Tommy John surgery) said he could remove his elbow brace in the next seven to 10 days. Gray is on track to return in August 2025. … Washington manager Dave Martinez did not attend the postgame news conference. A club spokesman said Martinez was not feeling well.

NEXT

Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole (5-2, 3.72 ERA) will face Nationals LHP Patrick Corbin (3-12, 5.73) on Tuesday night.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb