Judge, Torres and Cortes help Yankees top Nationals 5-2 to spoil Dylan Crews' debut

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gleyber Torres hit a leadoff homer, Aaron Judge made a spectacular defensive play and the New York Yankees beat Washington 5-2 on Monday night to spoil the major league debut of prized Nationals prospect Dylan Crews.

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

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

“Coming out of the homestand, starting the road trip, throwing an early punch there right away, that was big," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said about Torres' home run. "He’s obviously doing a great job in the leadoff spot. I feel like that first at-bat, he’s not sacrificing aggression, but he’s also having a lot of long, patient at-bats. That was a good strike there to grab us a lead.”

Crews, the third-ranked 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 touted outfielder was drafted second overall last year out of LSU.

“It was an awesome feeling to go out there for the first time and compete with the guys," Crews said. "Obviously, we didn’t end up winning today, but tomorrow we’re going to come out swinging.”

Torres hit his second homer in two games — his first two in August — to open 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 this season.

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

Wells smacked 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, most in the majors.

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

“It’s a great accomplishment,” Judge said. “It’s a blessing to play in this game long enough to get that milestone — but more work to be done.”

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

“Judge, we’ll call it his 52nd homer of the year," Boone said. "He’s really good at this stuff. The night they keep him in the ballpark, he takes one back from 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 over 6 2/3 innings on 91 pitches. He thwarted the Nationals' best chance to get back in the game by striking out the side in the sixth, including Chaparro to end the inning.

“Was able to execute down and away real well for that at-bat,” Cortes said. "I don’t think I go as long in the game as I did if it wasn’t for those amazing catches that were made out there.”

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

Juan Yepez and Jacob Young homered for the Nationals, who have lost eight of 12.

TRAINER’S ROOM

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

Nationals: RHP Josiah Gray (Tommy John surgery) said he will be able to 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 spokesperson said Martinez was not feeling well.

UP NEXT

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

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

New York Yankees' Alex Verdugo, left, Juan Soto, center, and Aaron Judge, right, celebrate after a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

New York Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. celebrates his home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Mitchell Parker throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge runs to first base on his single during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

New York Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Nationals' Dylan Crews watches during batting practice before a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. Crews is set to make his major league debut. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

New York Yankees' Juan Soto doffs his batting helmet to the crowd during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Nationals' Dylan Crews flies out during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

New York Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) celebrates his home run with Alex Verdugo, right, during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

New York Yankees' Juan Soto, left, Gleyber Torres, center, and Aaron Judge, right, celebrate after a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. The Yankees won 5-2.(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

New York Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge singles during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

New York Yankees' Gleyber Torres (25) celebrates after his home run with Aaron Judge, right, during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Texas Kadiri Moro stood in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Accra on Thursday, dressed in short pink Speedos and a pink polo shirt. Accompanied by trumpet players, carrying a banner with slogans including, “Why should a society of evildoers judge others?” and “Justice begins where inequality ends!” he marched across the Ghanaian capital in a one-man protest against a highly controversial bill which targets members of the LGBTQ+ community and their supporters.

Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation.

He is heterosexual, married to a woman, and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practicing Muslim. Yet for months he has been conducting solo demonstrations against the bill, which criminalizes members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as its supporters, including promotion and funding of related activities and public displays of affection. It could send some people to prison for more than a decade.

The bill was passed by Ghana ’s parliament earlier this year but has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

It has not yet been signed into law by President Nana Akufo-Addo, who cited ongoing proceedings. But he refused to reject it either.

“There are so many issues about rights" when it comes to the bill, Moro told The Associated Press.

“Homosexuality does not affect anyone," Moro said. “We have activities that people are doing in the country that are worse than homosexual activities,” he added, citing adultery as an example. The parliament, he said, should be more concerned with “other crimes and pollution.”

The bill has sparked condemnation from rights groups and some in the international community who have been concerned about similar efforts by other African governments.

Sponsors of the bill have said it seeks to protect children and people who are victims of abuse.

Gay sex is already illegal in Ghana, carrying a three-year prison sentence, but the new bill could imprison people for more than a decade for activities including public displays of affection and promotion and funding of LGBTQ+ activities.

Since he began his protests, Moro has lost his job, has not received any assistance from the LGBTQ+ community, and has become a target of “very hostile attacks from the Muslim community," he says.

But he is determined to continue. For him, it is about battling injustice.

“I know I'm doing something that God is asking me to do,” he said.

To point out the hypocrisy of the bill, Moro carried a petition to the Parliament asking the government to withdraw foreign missions from countries where homosexuality is legal, if they find it “filthy,” he said.

At the entrance to Parliament House, Kate Addo, Parliament's director of communications, received Moro's petition on behalf of the speaker. She said she was pleased with his initiative.

“We live in a democratic country where what people do in their bedrooms is not to be anyone’s concern,” Addo said. "However, we are also regulated by law.”

Even though Ghana's president delayed signing the bill into law, activists said that the debate by itself triggered an increase in physical and psychological violence against LGBTQ+ people.

Joseph Kobla Wemakor, the executive director of Human Rights Reporters Ghana, said that "abuse, both psychologically and physically against members of the community has skyrocketed" since the bill has been introduced.

“The moment people hear that you are part of this, the LGBTQ+, you are an enemy," Wekamor said. “They are looking forward to hurting you, even lynching you, killing you.”

They are "forgetting that we are all humans,” he added.

“It takes one man to change the world," he said. “And if he has started something like that, other people will follow, because it (the bill) is a wrongdoing.”

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Texas Kadri Moro, the Executive Director of Arise for Justice International, protests with placards nailed on a cross on the street of Accra, Ghana, Thursday Sept 12, 2024. Texas Kadiri Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation of Ghana. He is heterosexual, married to a woman and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practising Muslim. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Texas Kadri Moro, the Executive Director of Arise for Justice International, protests with placards nailed on a cross on the street of Accra, Ghana, Thursday Sept 12, 2024. Texas Kadiri Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation of Ghana. He is heterosexual, married to a woman and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practising Muslim. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Texas Kadri Moro, the Executive Director of Arise for Justice International, protests with placards nailed on a cross on the street of Accra, Ghana, Thursday Sept 12, 2024. Texas Kadiri Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation of Ghana. He is heterosexual, married to a woman and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practising Muslim. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Texas Kadri Moro, the Executive Director of Arise for Justice International, protests with placards nailed on a cross on the street of Accra, Ghana, Thursday Sept 12, 2024. Texas Kadiri Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation of Ghana. He is heterosexual, married to a woman and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practising Muslim. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Texas Kadri Moro, the Executive Director of Arise for Justice International, protests with placards nailed on a cross on the street of Accra, Ghana, Thursday Sept 12, 2024. Texas Kadiri Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation of Ghana. He is heterosexual, married to a woman and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practising Muslim. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Texas Kadri Moro, the Executive Director of Arise for Justice International, protests with placards nailed on a cross on the street of Accra, Ghana, Thursday Sept 12, 2024. Texas Kadiri Moro is an unusual figure amid the LGBTQ+ rights activists in the coastal West African nation of Ghana. He is heterosexual, married to a woman and a father of six. He is a teacher. And he is a practising Muslim. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)