Michael A. Taylor, Denard Span clutch in Nats' 5-4 comeback win

The young and the old helped the Nationals to a much needed 5-4 win in 11 innings over the Yankees this afternoon. After the Nats' lead disappeared in the seventh, rookie Michael A. Taylor answered with a clutch two-run game-tying homer in the eighth. A stout performance from the Nats bullpen extended the game into the 11th inning, where 31-year-old Denard Span legged out an infield single, allowing Tyler Moore to safely hurry to the plate for the eventual game-winning run.

"We battled today, battled back," Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters after the win. "Down two and then the big swing from Michael. It's important for us to play until the last one. Today we did. We battled 'til the last out and Denard bounced the ball back up the middle and was able to beat it out."

Williams didn't know if Span would make it into the lineup until shortly before the game. Span has been dealing with back spasms since Sunday that forced Williams to scratch him from yesterday's lineup card.

In addition to the current back tightness, Span has also dealt with recovering from offseason hernia and core muscle surgeries. The latter caused Span to miss the first 12 games of the season. And in the last two weeks, the eight-year veteran has been slowed by a sore right knee.

"It's been tough this year for me," Span said on MASN's "Nats Xtra". "I've been battling a lot of nagging injuries. It's the first time in my career that I've ever had to deal with something like this. It's been tough but I've been trying to be smart. Today, I didn't think that I was gonna play when I woke up and got going. I still didn't feel that good before the game but I told myself, 'Let's go out there and see how I feel,' in hopes that it loosens up, and as the game went on, it did."

Span delivered a 3-for-6 performance with a double and two RBIs to help the Nats snap a three-game losing streak.

"We need him," Williams told reporters. "He's an important part of our club."

The Yankees didn't pick up their second hit of the ballgame until the sixth inning against Nats starter Gio Gonzalez, who was masterful for much of his 103-pitch effort. The Nats entered the seventh holding a slim 2-0 lead, but the Yankees countered with a single from left fielder Chris Young and a triple from shortstop Brendan Ryan to get on the scoreboard. Williams ended Gonzalez's day and summoned lefty Felipe Rivero from the bullpen.

Yankees center fielder Brett Gardner promptly hit an RBI double down the first base line to tie the game. Two batters later, Williams looked to right-hander Aaron Barrett to face designated hitter Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez jumped on a 94 mph heater, sending it over Span's head for a two-out RBI double to give the Yankees the lead. They would tack on another run on a fluky single up the middle that caromed off second base and over Ian Desmond's shoulder.

But the wounded Nats showed resiliency. Yunel Escobar led off the eighth with a single that finally sent Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi to the showers. Left-hander Jacob Lindgren followed Eovaldi to the mound and was able to retire Bryce Harper and Desmond before Taylor stepped to the plate for his first at-bat of the game.

Down 1-2 in the count, Taylor smoked a sinker the opposite way over the right-center field fence for a game-saving two-run homer. All five of Taylor's home runs this season have either tied the game or given the Nats the lead.

"He doesn't come off the fastball," Williams told reporters. "He can get himself in a good hitter's count. He's got power to all fields. He showed it today. He got two strikes and he got a ball out over to hit. We substituted him in because we were ahead in the game at that point and we need our best defense in there. It turned out he got the swing to get us back in."

Danny Espinosa factored immensely in the Nationals' early lead. He doubled with two outs in the third and then scored the Nats' first run on Span's two-bagger. In the fifth, Espinosa took Eovaldi deep to right-center for his eighth homer of the season. He was a triple shy of the cycle as he collected a single in his third at-bat as part of a 3-for-5 afternoon, batting in the ninth spot.

"We gotta try to find a space for him to play," Williams told reporters about Espinosa. "It's important to do that so we'll spend the next hours discussing and try to work that out."

It's possible that Espinosa could find some playing time in left field where Williams tried him out for the first time when Span was forced out of Sunday's game with the back injury.

After the problems in the seventh, the Nationals received a strong effort out of the bullpen from right-handers Casey Janssen, Blake Treinen and Drew Storen, who combined to throw four scoreless innings.