Will Warren’s – Will Warren entered Saturday with a streak that felt almost automatic for the Yankees. Then a 10-2 shellacking by the Reds turned on defense mistakes and a late barrage that left Warren with his first loss since May 6 versus Texas.
NEW YORK — It was the kind of Yankees routine that had started to feel reliable: every time Will Warren went out, the team handed him the ball and walked back expecting something good.
Six handshakes in a row, the feeling went. A 12-14 record entering Saturday’s game in Warren’s 14 outings. with the right-hander posting the best winning percentage (.857) for a pitcher’s games (minimum 10 starts). Paul Goldschmidt summed up the mood in a way only a veteran can—“I have no idea what his stats are. but it feels like we’ve got a chance to win every time he’s out there.”.
That belief didn’t survive the night.
Warren was saddled with his second loss of the year and his first since May 6 against Texas. In the Yankees’ most lopsided defeat of the season so far—10-2 at Yankee Stadium—the damage came fast and wide. Rookie third baseman Sal Stewart tied a career high with six RBIs. and the Reds turned Warren’s outing into the opening chapter of a blowout.
Warren tried to keep it simple afterward. “It could have been better,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to minimize the damage there. Especially with our offense and the amount of runs we put up, if I can get out of there in a 4-1 game, I have full confidence we’ll come back and win.”
But the night never offered him that clean break.
One early swing carried the weight, then the unearned runs piled up. Spencer Steer’s three-run homer was the biggest blow off Warren, and the Yankees defense didn’t do him any favors. Four unearned runs were allowed as the Reds built momentum.
The mistakes weren’t hidden, and they weren’t minor.
In the third inning, right fielder Jasson Domínguez made a shoestring grab on a JJ Bleday fly ball, then threw to the wrong base. It cost the Yankees a chance to double Edwin Arroyo off at second base. Stewart followed with a two-run double.
Domínguez owned the mistake without making excuses. “I just rushed to throw the ball,” he said. “It was a bad throw, but I definitely think I had a chance.”
The play also landed on a season-long storyline for Domínguez. Manager Aaron Boone has described Domínguez’s play in right field as “a work in progress.” Domínguez didn’t disagree with the idea that things are still settling. but he said the feel in right has improved. He explained he has “felt ‘more natural’ playing there than he did taking on duties in left field during the 2024 season.”.
“The first day that I was playing right field, I just felt more comfortable,” Domínguez said. “Maybe the experience moving from center field to left field helped, but I definitely feel better.”
Still, a comfort level doesn’t stop a bad throw from turning into a crooked inning.
The fifth inning widened the gap. Ben Rice couldn’t cleanly pick a throw, and that small break in the chain opened the floodgates. A Stewart sac fly followed, and the Reds added another surge when Steer produced a Statcast-projected 407-foot blast to left-center field.
By then, Warren’s line told the same story: eight hits allowed over 5 2/3 innings, with two walks and eight strikeouts.
Warren described the overall feel as fine—until the timing of one swing made it hurt. “Overall, the stuff felt great today,” he said. “They just put the big swing there in the fifth to put the big crooked number up.”
The Reds starter, Andrew Abbott, did what good nights do—he kept the Yankees from stringing together real damage even when they threatened. Abbott held New York to one run over five innings.
Goldschmidt provided the only early spark that felt like relief for the Yankees. He connected for a first-inning blast—his 12th homer of the season and his sixth facing left-handed pitching. Goldschmidt has been on a roll in recent weeks. hitting four homers in his last seven games. but the Yankees didn’t have an answer beyond that.
“We had some guys on base, but we weren’t really able to get that hit,” Goldschmidt said.
In the fifth inning, Goldschmidt got a chance to turn the deficit into something smaller. He batted with the bases loaded and struck out on a third strike—then initiated an ABS challenge, hoping for a reversal.
“I think if it wasn’t that situation, I’m probably not challenging,” Goldschmidt said. “It wasn’t like I thought for sure it was a ball. I thought it was a situation that was worth a chance. Unfortunately for us, it was on the corner.”
The Reds kept padding the score after that. Stewart added a bases-clearing double in the eighth against Ryan Yarbrough, and the Yankees felt the shape of the game shift fully toward the end.
Only then did Boone make a rare change: he assigned the ninth inning to Max Schuemann. It was the first time this season the Yankees sent a position player to the mound.
Schorning the moment into a brief bright spot, Schuemann topped out at 49.8 mph on his lobs, navigated around a walk and a single in a scoreless frame, and finished the inning with a 0.00 career ERA—one of the only clean outcomes for the home team.
Goldschmidt, as the night ended, sounded like a player already trying to protect tomorrow. “Let’s move on and be ready to go tomorrow,” he said. “They played better than us. They beat us today. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
Yankees Reds Will Warren Sal Stewart Jasson Domínguez Paul Goldschmidt Aaron Boone Andrew Abbott Max Schuemann Yankee Stadium
10-2?? man Yankees defense really let them hang.
I didn’t even know Will Warren was pitching like that, but apparently he’s not automatic anymore. Also how do you give up a 3-run homer that early and just keep standing around?
Wait so the defense mistakes caused his loss… but then it says unearned runs piled up? that part confuses me like does it count or not lol. Either way Reds timing was crazy, but I swear the Yankees always fall apart at Yankee Stadium when the fans get loud.
So basically his “streak” was feelings and vibes and then one bad start happened. I swear Paul Goldschmidt line was like… “I dunno stats”?? Meanwhile Sal Stewart is out here doing career-high stuff. Maybe they should stop relying on “confidence” and just fix the defense before it turns into a whole losing streak.