WASHINGTON — Aaron Judge doesn’t just hit home runs. He robs them.

Judge, who had hit seven home runs in the previous six games, was the star of the game Monday night when he climbed over the left-center field fence at Nationals Park and stole a potential game-tying home run from the Nationals’ Andres Chaparro in the Yankees’ 5-2 win over Washington.

Judge, who has 51 homers this season, went 1-for-4 with a walk. His ninth-inning single was his 1,000th career hit.

Which begs the question: Is there anything Judge can’t do on a baseball field? It must be why Jazz Chisholm Jr. draped a towel over the shoulders of No. 99 in the dugout like a Superman cape.

“Again, he’s really good at this,” Aaron Boone said. “One night they keep him in the ballpark, he’s going to get one back on the other side. Just a little reminder of how many other things he does well.”

The Yankees led 2-0 in the fourth inning when Judge, 400 feet (121 m) from home plate, timed his jump perfectly and gloved a drive over the fence.

After his steal, Judge threw the ball back to Gleyber Torres, who threw the ball to first base to double James Wood and complete a dramatic 8-4-3 double play to end the inning.

“I was pretty excited about it,” Judge said.

The catch was Judge’s second outstanding play and the Yankees’ third in support of Nestor Cortes, who saw his fielders convert about 1,200 feet of rockets into three outs.

After a 1-2-3 first, Cortes was saved by his defense in the second. After Chaparro led off with a double, Keibert Ruiz sent a drive to the left-field fence.

Alex Verdugo ran the ball and slammed into the wall at full speed, hitting him hard in the face and right knee. He limped, but after a visit from Boone and the coach, he stayed in the game.

“It was just a little face full of wall,” said Verdugo (three goals).

One batter later, Jose Tena hit a ball more than 400 feet to a triangle where the left and center field fences meet. Judge soared back and caught the ball with a leap, his broad back gently kissing the fence.

“I thought (Judge) could have waited a little bit longer to show me,” Verdugo said. “Let me live in it a little bit.”

Cortes, who threw seven shutout innings in each of his previous two starts, allowed one run in 6 2⁄3 innings. Things could have been much, much different without a little help — or rather a lot of help — from his friends.

“Awesome,” 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.”

Torres gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the first with his second leadoff homer of the season and second homer in as many games. Anthony Volpe (three hits) led off the second with a double off the centerfield wall, moved to third on a long fly to right by Chisholm and scored on a sacrifice fly to medium right by DJ LeMahieu.

More defense: After Chisholm made two errors (first dangling the ball, then wildly throwing the same cleaver to third), Austin Wells intercepted Juan Yepez’s ball at second base for the final out of the fifth inning (clearly an incorrect safe call on the field, but it was overturned on replay).

Wells led off the sixth inning with his tenth home run and the Yankees also hit a second “Volpe-run” to make it 4-0.

Volpe singled to center and was headed for second when Jacob Young bounced the ball for an error. Volpe made it, but his helmet flew off and his head landed on the right knee of shortstop C.J. Abrams.

Volpe, who remained in the game, stole third and scored on LeMahieu’s second sacrifice fly, this time to far left.

“He seemed fine,” Boone said. “I’m sure they’ll take another look at him, but he seemed fine.”

With runners on second and third and no outs in the sixth inning, Cortes struck out Abrams and Dylan Crews, walked Wood to load the bases, and struck out Chaparro.

Yepez ended Cortes’ 20 1⁄3-inning scoreless streak with a 432-foot solo home run to left with one out in the seventh. Chisholm made it 5-1 in the top of the eighth with his eighth home run in 18 games as a Yankee. Young homered off Mark Leiter Jr. in the bottom of the inning.

Cortes (8-10) has allowed one run, 10 hits and two walks in 20 2⁄3 innings in his last three starts for an 0.44 ERA and a 0.58 WHIP. In his previous five starts, he has allowed 24 runs, 36 hits and nine walks in 23 1⁄3 innings for a 9.26 ERA and 1.93 WHIP.

Notes and quotes: The Yankees (78-54), who have won 18 of their last 27 games, moved two games ahead of Baltimore, their largest lead since June 25. Luis Gil, who left an ineffective start Wednesday with lower back pain, threw a bullpen session Sunday. Boone said he’s not sure what Gil’s next move will be or whether he’ll be able to return after his 15-day injured list ends. The Yankees claimed speedy outfielder Duke Ellis off waivers from Seattle. Ellis, 26, could be added to the postseason roster as a pinch runner. He has stolen 51 bases in the minors in 2024.

Anthony Rieber writes about baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has been with Newsday since August 31, 1998, and has held his current position since July 5, 2004.