Baltimore – Will Warren Reflects on Tough Outing Against Orioles

Will Warren had quite a day on Friday, bouncing back from a challenging performance against the Red Sox. But it was a specific moment during his outing that lingered in his mind.

After the Yankees fell 4-2 to the Orioles at Camden Yards, Warren replayed a particular play that didn’t go as planned in his head. He managed to go six innings, yet he struggled with a ground ball that led to a run for the Orioles.

Warren had only one prior experience of pitching five innings without hitting a wall, and that was during his previous appearance. A broken bat sent shards flying as he attempted to play the ball, an unfortunate distraction that added to his struggle.

Though he acknowledged the bat parts were on his mind, Warren was hesitant to use them as an excuse. “I mean, sure, I saw the ball spinning,” he admitted. “But I’ve caught grounders thousands of times, so I should’ve handled that.” He felt the weight of that error: “If I’d made that play, we might have been tied up,” he said, referring to Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s perspective on what could’ve been.

Warren was charged with six runs after a previous rocky outing against the Red Sox last Sunday. In another attempt, he limited the damage to three runs over 5¹/₃ innings on Friday. Notably, Ryan Mountcastle took him deep, marking a concerning trend as this was the sixth consecutive game in which Warren surrendered a home run.

Carlos Rodon’s Upcoming Start

Looking ahead, Carlos Rodon is set to pitch for his 17th win this Saturday, following Max Fried’s recent 18th victory. If all goes well, Rodon could match Fried’s count with two more starts remaining this season.

If both left-handers secure 18 wins, they’d be the first Yankees starters to achieve this feat since CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes did it in 2010. The last pair of teammates with at least 18 wins together were Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander of the Astros back in 2019. In fact, the Yankees have seen six pairs of teammates reach that milestone since 1961.

Austin Slater’s Performance

Meanwhile, Austin Slater faced Orioles lefty Trevor Rodgers and ended up with a 1-4 record, including three strikeouts, while currently sitting at 18-3 with 12 strikeouts as a Yankee.