Andres Chavez
The New York Yankees earned their third win in a row on Friday afternoon, beating the Miami Marlins 8-2 in their home opener at Yankee Stadium behind an excellent performance from starting pitcher Will Warren and a three-RBI day by captain Aaron Judge and Ben Rice.
The Yankees’ record now stands at 6-1, the best in the American League as of Friday afternoon. Incredibly, New York just needed six hits to produce eight runs.
Warren (1-0) kept the Marlins off balance for 5.2 innings, allowing only a couple of solo homers and striking out six. He didn’t walk anyone and surrendered four hits, leaving his ERA at an amazing 2.70 after two outings. He was one out away from achieving a quality start, but if he keeps throwing like this, they will come in bunches.
Warren Keeps Improving But Hasn’t Hit His Ceiling
Warren got seven swings and misses with his stuff, five of which came from the four-seam fastball. The other two came off his sinker. Once he starts trusting his breaking stuff, even better days could be ahead for him.
The Marlins actually jumped ahead in the first inning, with Xavier Edward’s first home run of the season with one out against Warren. The Yankees wouldn’t take long to respond, though.
Trent Grisham worked a leadoff walk and touched home plate thanks to Aaron Judge’s third long ball of the young campaign.
Another Grisham walk, this time with the bases loaded in the bottom of the second, would drive in the Yanks’ third run. The fourth came after Judge was hit by an Eury Perez’s pitch right after Grisham.
Owen Caissie hit a long drive to right field that cleared the wall and gave Miami its second run of the afternoon in the top of the fifth, but that was the extent of the damage allowed by Warren and the Yankees’ pitching staff.
The Bombers would add another run in the bottom of the sixth, when Austin Wells scored on a wild pitch by Tyler Phillips. After fouling off a ball at 110.5 mph, Ben Rice belted a laser to right field that left his bat at 110.9 mph for a solo homer in the seventh.
Rice would be in the thick of things again in the bottom of the eighth, lacing a two-run double and taking his RBI count on the day to three.
Relief Pitching Was Outstanding Once Again
Tim Hill finished off the sixth inning for the Yankees, and Jake Bird took care of the seventh with no walks or hits and two punchouts, keeping the foot on the gas and making an early case to be the most improved Yankee in 2026. Brent Headrick, another candidate for that unofficial award, had a similarly dominant eighth.
Ryan Yarbrough made his 2026 debut, taking care of the ninth. Cade Winquest has yet to pitch for the Yankees this year.
The Bombers and the Marlins will do it again on Saturday, starting at 7:05 pm ET. Max Meyer will toe the rubber for Miami, while left-hander Ryan Weathers will face his former team.
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