The night did not start well for Zimmermann.

WASHINGTON, DC - There's no place like home.

Two lefties who have received little offensive support hope for a change of fortune when Seattle faces Baltimore at Camden Yards.

So when Zimmerman clanged a ball off the right field foul pole for a walk-off home run and an 8-6 Washington win, it came as quite a surprise to many Yankee fans.

Anibal Sanchez struggles against BrewersJimmy Nelson was fantastic for the Brewers, taming the Tigers over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, but the big story in the Brewers’ 8-1 win was the poor start for Sanchez.

The Yankees know they'll be without Ellsbury for the next two weeks. Harper grounded out to first in the first, but that would be his final at-bat.

The Yankees will welcome the awful Rangers for three games starting Friday night before hosting the Royals, who took two of three from the Yankees in Kansas City last weekend.

"I feel like he was madder at Matt than he was me,” Harper said. After a 2-for-5 outing against the Mariners, Paredes now has a 1.001 OPS and 22 RBI, good for second on the team behind Adam Jones. "I’m not going to put a number on it. Let’s just see how he does with the 45 and decide what’s next after that".

"I’m sure he’d much rather be in there than having all this time off. But, I mean, he understands the situation, “Girardi said. He is arguably the Yankees's best all-around player this season, and has the 3rd best OBP and 10th best BA in the American League this year. The Yankees were ahead by two runs by the end of the top of the first inning. He had an outstanding spring, batting. We are going to win a lot of ballgames, “he said.

"It was so long ago, " Williams said with a grin, "we did the old 'shake hands and go in the clubhouse.'". Squawker Jon and I had gone to Washington, D.C.to visit my brother, who lived in Arlington, Virginia then, and to watch the Yankees play the Nationals. After Mark Teixeira advanced Beltran to third on a groundout, Brian McCann made the score 2-0 with a sacrifice fly to center field.

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Adam Warren pitches well enough for the Yankees but still takes the loss.

The Bronx Bombers got out to an early lead in the first inning.

After home plate ump Marvin Hudson called a strike on a pitch well below Bryce Harper's knees Wednesday night, Harper's body language said what everyone was thinking: That was a ball. As Hudson jawed with Matt Williams, Harper stepped out of the conflict zone. It appeared Hudson ordered Harper back in the box and the outfielder emphatically rubbed his foot along the back line of the box and immediately was tossed by Hudson. Hudson, who has been an MLB umpire since 1998, ejected Williams, who kicked dirt over home plate before leaving the field.

In Houston, Chris Carter and Colby Rasmus each hit two-run homers.

Span drove in an unearned, go-ahead run with a bases-loaded single off reliever Justin Wilson.

Matt Grace and Drew Storen combined for two scoreless innings in relief, and Storen added a pair of strikeouts to clinch his twelfth save.