'Aggressive' Robles' gamble backfires vs. Yankees

Washington Nationals' first baseman comes up short trying to steal home

Robles' attempted steal of home proves costly in Nationals' loss

Washington Nationals first baseman Maikel Robles' gamble to steal home backfired in a big way on Friday night against the New York Yankees.

With the Nationals trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Robles led off with a double. He then advanced to third on a groundout by César Hernández.

With two outs and Yankees right-hander Clay Holmes on the mound, Robles attempted to steal home. However, Holmes quickly stepped off the rubber and threw to catcher Kyle Higashioka, who applied the tag just in time to get Robles out.

The failed steal proved to be a costly one for the Nationals, as they went on to lose the game 3-1.

After the game, Robles said he was "just trying to make something happen" when he attempted to steal home.

"I saw the catcher wasn't paying attention to me, so I thought I had a chance to get a jump on him," Robles said. "But he made a good throw and got me out."

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said he was "disappointed" with Robles' decision to try to steal home.

"We had two outs and a runner on third," Martinez said. "We should have been trying to get a base hit to tie the game, not trying to steal home."

The Nationals have now lost five of their last six games and are now 12-18 on the season.