Judge's first 3 HR-game, 6 RBIs halt Yanks' spiral

NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge had his first big league three-homer game and tied his career high with six RBIs, almost single-handedly breaking the New York Yankees' first nine-game losing streak in 41 years with a 9-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.

Two hours after general manager Brian Cashman called the season "a disaster," Judge drove a first-inning curveball from MacKenzie Gore over the Yankees bullpen in right-center.

Judge made it 6-0 in the second with his fifth career grand slam, a shot into the netting above Monument Park in center field. In the seventh he combined with DJ LeMahieu for back-to-back homers against Jose A. Ferrer, popping the ball over the right-field short porch just inside the foul pole.

Judge became the third player in MLB history to hit three home runs in a win that snapped his team's losing streak of at least nine games, joining Freddie Patek (1980) and Eddie Mathews (1952). He is also the first Yankees player with three home runs including a grand slam in a game since Alex Rodriguez on April 26, 2005.

Judge is hitting .279 with 27 homers and 54 RBIs in 72 games. The reigning AL MVP, who has 32 multihomer games, entered in a 3-for-19 slide. He missed nearly eight weeks because of a sprained right big toe and returned before the injury fully healed.

Last-place New York (61-65) had been within a loss of what would have been its first 10-game losing streak since 1913, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Before Judge's first homer, the Yankees had gone 61 innings without leading since Aug. 14 at Atlanta, the third-longest stretch in franchise history behind 63 from Aug. 16-23, 1906, and 62 from Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2000.

Luis Severino allowed one hit and matched a season high with 6⅔ innings, ending an 0-4 stretch since he beat Kansas City on July 23. Severino lowered his ERA from 7.98 to 7.26. Catcher Keibert Ruiz had Washington's lone hit against Severino, lining a two-out single to right in the fourth.

Ian Hamilton and Wandy Peralta finished a three-hitter.

ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.