It was always going to be a difficult task to complete the sweep facing the Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez. However, it doesn’t matter who the opposing pitcher is when your own starter coughs up six runs in the first three innings. Will Warren was positively wretched from the start, and the half-dozen runs on his card means he has now given up 31 runs (27 earned) in his last 37.2 innings since the start of June. It’s the type of start that will send the team on the plane to Chicago with a bit of a sour taste despite having won the series in Philly, as they get rolled in the series finale, 11-4.
The slug was noticeably absent from the Phillies lineup in the first two games, but facing Will Warren brought it back starting with the first batter they sent to the plate. Trea Turner led off the bottom of the first with a triple that was aided by a Trent Grisham misread in center and scored the game’s opening run on a Kyle Schwarber sac fly. Already, it began to feel uneasy given the way both teams have struggled to score this series and the way Cristopher Sánchez was throwing the ball all season and especially through the opening innings tonight.
The damage continued in the second, Bryson Stott crushing a one out, center-cut 1-0 fastball on a line into the seats in right for a solo shot to make it 2-0, Phillies. It always felt like Warren was on the edge of disaster, and indeed his start imploded fully in the third. He walked Schwarber with two outs and then gave up a double to Bryce Harper to put runners on second and third. The Yankees opted to intentionally walk Brandon Marsh to load the bases and bring the struggling Alec Bohm to the plate. Warren got to 1-2 without much trouble, but then threw a pair of non-competitive pitches to force him back into the zone in a full count, and Bohm crushed a hanging sweeper to the wall in left-center to clear the bases, Stott then driving him home with a single to make it 6-0.
Much of Warren’s success early in the season came from the unique look of his up-shoot fastball thrown from a low arm slot combined with his conviction to throw the heater in the zone frequently and in any count. However, once the league read the book on his heater and figured out its deceptive movement, it became a mediocre offering at just 93 mph, one that he throws way too much for its below average raw characteristics and imprecise command. Five of the six hits as well as the sac fly came against either the four-seamer or sinker, yet Warren threw the pair of subpar pitches a combined 63 percent of the time. He departed after giving up a leadoff single in the fourth, his final line standing at six runs on six hits and two walks in three-plus innings.
To their credit, the offense did not throw in the towel despite Warren’s stinker and Sánchez’s early dominance. They loaded the bases in the fourth as Amed Rosario reached on a fielding error by Trea Turner, Anthony Volpe doubled, and Max Schuemann fought back from 1-2 to draw a two-out walk, only for José Caballero to bounce a chopper to strand all three ducks on the pond.
This was enough to crack the seal on Sánchez as he faced the order for the third time in the fifth. Ali Sánchez led off with a single, Paul Goldschmidt drew a walk, and Ben Rice hit a into a soft forceout to put runners on the corners. A Sánchez throwing error on a pickoff attempt scored Sánchez and advanced Rice to second, followed by a Rosario single that moved Rice up a base, Rosario advancing to second on the throw from the outfield. Jasson Domínguez grounded out weakly enough to bring Rice home, and Volpe roped a double to left to bring him home. Volpe had gone without an extra-base hit since June 26th, so it was nice to see him collect a pair of doubles in consecutive innings. A wild pitch allowed Volpe to advance to within 90 feet of scoring, but he was stranded at third by a Grisham grounder.
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In the sixth, it was time for the Yankees defense to let them down. Bryan De La Cruz led off with a routine grounder to Volpe, but he rushed the throw and yanked it 15 feet wide of first allowing De La Cruz to advance to second. Justin Crawford laid a bunt down the third base line and Rosario spiked his throw to first into the dirt, and instead of two outs and no one on it was runners on the corners with no outs. A Turner single to left plated De La Cruz as the Phillies’ seventh run and a Schwarber single to center loaded the bases. Ryan Yarbrough struck out Harper and Marsh, but plunked Bohm to force home another run. That set up the death blow from Stott as he lined his team’s second bases-clearing double into the corner in right to push the Phillies into double digits, 11-3.
You have to look for the silver linings after that outburst put the final nail in the Yankees’ coffin. You can find one in the seventh, Rice perhaps putting a halt to his 1-for-20 skid with his 31st home run of the year, a solo shot into the bullpen in right-center off old friend Tim Mayza. He would also add a double in the ninth.
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The offense managed to double their run output in the series by matching the four they scored in the first two games, but there was never a real chance to overcome the deficit created by Warren and deepened by Yarbrough. 11-4 is your final score, the Yankees falling to three games back of the Rays after Tampa completed the sweep of Cleveland.
The Yankees fly to Chicago for seven straight games — four against the White Sox followed by three at the Cubs. Max Fried gets the series opener against the Southsiders tomorrow night facing Noah Schultz. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. EST with the broadcast returning to YES.
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