Will Warren Shines in Yankees Victory
Will Warren demonstrated his knack for striking out batters, but he achieved that alongside solid efficiency on Saturday.
In a compelling outing at Yankee Stadium, he pitched seven innings against the Royals, racking up 11 strikeouts and leading the Yankees to a 13-4 victory.
The right-handed pitcher had set the stage earlier in the season, starting four games and only managing to go five innings once. However, on Saturday, he dominated, throwing scoreless innings throughout.
Warren, who had gone without a hit since the fourth inning of the previous game against the Angels, expressed, “Our job as starting pitchers is to pitch as long as possible and get as many outs as possible.” He added, “I wasn’t meeting my standards before, so it felt great to perform well today.”
This marked the second time in his early career that Warren pitched for at least seven innings and the third time he reached double-digit strikeouts.
Remarkably, he did this without issuing any walks, maintaining control over the Royals for the entire afternoon.
“What stands out to me is how often he gets swings and misses on his fastballs,” commented manager Aaron Boone. “His unique pitch and delivery help him achieve that. He’s improved from last year and is still growing.”
On Saturday, the Royals had a tough time with Warren’s four-seamer, swinging and missing 26 times, with seven of those resulting in strikeouts. His sinker and changeup kept left-handed hitters off balance as well.
“When he’s on, he’s unbeatable,” said catcher JC Escala.
If all five starting pitchers stay fit, the Yankees will have to evaluate their rotation once Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole are eligible to return from the disabled list in May.
With an impressive showing like Saturday’s, which lowered his ERA to 2.49 across five starts, Warren is adamant about staying in the rotation.
“I think I executed well overall. Everything felt good,” he reflected. He also helped preserve the shutout by making a play at first base on Bobby Witt Jr. during the fourth inning with a comfortable 5-0 lead.
“The sinker generates a lot of ground balls. We’ve got a game plan, and the team is likely to be aggressive. The Royals and Angels often lead to more strikeouts… If I can get three ground balls with three pitches, I’m satisfied.”
