Will Warren Looks to Boost Yanks in Game 2

Will Warren had a golden opportunity before him. The Yankees beat the Astros last night, 7-1, and could have won this series if Will Warren had pitched well. Will Warren has, for the most part, this season. He had a favorable matchup tonight against journeyman Jason Alexander. Will Warren pitched well, and the Yankees won. Will Warren was at risk of not making the Yankees’ playoff roster, which is too bad for the youngster. This game helped him. In a real sense, Will Warren and all the Yankee pitchers are auditioning for spots in the Yankees’ playoff roster. Who do you think should be in the Yankees’ playoff rotation?

Lineups For the Yanks in Will Warren Start

The Astros had Jeremy Pena leading off and playing shortstop. Yordan Alvarez was the left fielder and batted second. Mauricio Dubon relaced him in left field in the ninth inning. This was his first game back after being out for several months. Jose Altuve batted third and was the designated hitter. Carlos Correa batted fourth and was the third baseman. Jesús Sánchez was the right fielder and batted fifth. Yainer Diaz was the catcher and batted sixth. Victor Caratini was the first baseman and batted seventh. Jacob Melton Pintch-run for him in the seventh inning. Cristian Walker came in to play first base in the eighth inning. Ramon Urias was the second baseman and batted eighth. Taylor Trammell was the center fielder and batted ninth. 

For the Yankees, Trent Grisham played center field and led off. Aaron Judge was the designated hitter and batted second. Cody Bellinger was the right fielder and batted third. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was the second baseman and batted fourth. Giancarlo Stanton was the left fielder and batted fifth.  Ben Rice was the first baseman and batted sixth. Austin Wells Jr. was the catcher and batted seventh.  Anthony Volpe was the shortstop and batted eighth. Jasson Dominguez pincth-hit for him in the eighth inning. Ryan McMahon was the third baseman and batted ninth. 

News and Notes

The Yankees had a gigantic win last night. Key to the victory in Houston was a grand slam from Grisham and a well-pitched game from starter Max Fried. Fried was not feeling well, but one could not tell; he did not allow a hit until the fifth inning, and only gave up one run in seven innings.

With the win, the Yankees have now won ten games in a row on the road. One could properly characterize them as road warriors.

Yankees number five prospect, Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, is doing very well. When the Yankees and Red Sox made an offseason swap of catcher Carlos Narváez and Rodriguez-Cruz, it did not grab many headlines, but while Narváez has blossomed for Boston, the 22-year-old hurler has emerged as one of the Minors’ most electric arms, moving into second place with 158 strikeouts following an eight-strikeout performance for Double-A Somerset Patriots. The native of Puerto Rico delivered his ninth scoreless outing of the year, lowering his earned run average to 2.47 across 24 appearances.

Game Reaction

Will Warren just continues to pile up the strikeouts. Now he is climbing on the Yankees’ all-time rookie strikeout list.

The Yankees scored first in this game. They have won 56 times this season when scoring first. The Yankees now have six players with 20 home runs, with Wells’ home run. Soon, they will have 8 players with 20 home runs, Volpe has 19 and Stanton has 18. That would be the most in franchise history.

After the Pena home run to lead off the sixth inning, Will Warren was pulled from the game. So, he gave up two runs in five innings pitched. He had 4 strikeouts.

Scoring Summary

In the second inning, Stanton hit a titanic solo home run. The Yankees led 1-0.

In the fourth inning, Wells hit a two-run home run. Rice scored as well. The Yankees led 3-0.

In the fifth inning, Urias hit a sacrifice fly, and Diaz scored. It was 3-1 Yankees.

In the sixth inning, McMahon hit a sacrifice fly and Rice scored. The Yankees took a 4-1 lead.

In the sixth inning, Pena hit a solo home run. It was 4-2 Yankees. Then Altuve grounded out and Alvarez scored. The Yankee lead was now 4-3.

In the seventh inning, Alvarez singled and Melton scored. The game was tied at 4.

In the eighth inning, Trammell walked and Correa scored. The Astros led 5-4.  Then Pena singled and Sanchex scored. It was 6-4 Astros. Then Doval balked and Walker scored. The Astros lead 7-4. Then Camilo Doval threw a wild pitch and Trammell scored. It was 8-4 Astros.

In the ninth inning Bellinger hit a three-run home run. Judege scored and so did McMahon. The Yankees cut the lead to 8-7.

Conclusion

The Yankees needed Will Warren to pitch well in this game to keep their well-rested bullpen well-rested. He did. The bullpen unravelled in an ugly eighth inning. The Yankees play the Astros again on Thursday night, at the odd time of 7:40 Eastern. Then they head home to play the American League East Division-leading Toronto Blue Jays, starting Friday at 7:05 PM Eastern.