The Yankees didn’t allow rookie starter Will Warren to record more than five outs in their road meeting with the Rays last Thursday. It wasn’t a move that signaled a complete lack of trust — the right-hander was pushed beyond five innings for the first time this season on Tuesday against the Guardians.
But the positive vibes that Warren produced with five scoreless frames of one-hit ball were squashed in the sixth, as he allowed back-to-back singles and ultimately watched Cleveland orchestrate a three-run rally from the dugout in New York’s frustrating 3-2 loss at Progressive Field.
While the Yankees are now on the verge of being swept for the first time this season, their sixth-inning breakdown didn’t tell the story of Warren’s performance. He worked efficiently, inducing enough grounders and whiffs against a lineup that featured nine left-handed batters. Overall, he allowed two runs on three hits with a walk and five strikeouts across 82 pitches.
“We have confidence in the shapes of my pitches and stuff like that,” Warren told the YES Network after the game. “It’s mainly being aggressive in the zone, getting the hitter on their heels, and controlling the count.. Any time you put nine lefties in there, it’s going to be a challenge for sure. Two years ago, I’d be extremely happy with how tonight went because lefties used to be my kryptonite. Now I feel like I have the confidence to go out there, whoever they put in the lineup.”
Warren managed to avoid the long ball and keep his teammates active — seven of his 15 outs came on grounders. But the Yankees struggled to help him and Mark Leiter Jr. work out of jams, as some squirrely infield hits and defensive miscues raised pitch counts and extended Cleveland’s threats.
New York’s lone error came in the second, when a poor throw to first from second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. ultimately led to a situation with runners on the corners. Then, moments after Warren left the game, a wild pitch from Leiter allowed a hustling Steven Kwan to score Cleveland’s first run.
A two-out looper behind second base that Anthony Volpe couldn’t grab cleanly resulted in the Guardians’ third run, and the misplay was also changed from an error to a single. Warren was responsible for creating the sixth-inning mess, but a string of bad luck undoubtedly spoiled his encouraging performance. His ERA now sits at 4.79 through five starts.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he didn’t second-guess or regret sending Warren back out for the sixth. He was staying in until Guardians star Jose Ramirez returned to the plate.
“I thought he threw the ball so well,” Boone said of Warren. “Really encouraging outing from him. Life to the heater, putting it where he wanted to. But getting ahead and he looked real aggressive, on the attack and pitching with confidence. That’s what he’s capable of right there. Good to see him have an outing like that.”
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