The New York Yankees found themselves buried early on Monday night, falling into a 0-4 hole against the Baltimore Orioles before the seats had even warmed up.
They managed to claw back within a run thanks to some timely doubles from Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells, but the mountain proved a little too steep. The series opener slipped through their fingers with a 4-3 loss.
Will Warren Struggles to Find His Footing
Pitching can sometimes feel like tightrope walking without a safety net, and Will Warren wobbled badly this time out. He lasted just 3.1 innings, surrendering four runs and taking the loss.
The flashes of potential are there—he struck out five—but there’s no getting around the fact that too many batters reached base with six hits and a pair of walks.
Warren’s recent outings have been like a seesaw, tilting between good and bad with frustrating unpredictability. Monday’s rough ride left his ERA inflated at 5.63, and the lingering concern isn’t about stuff—it’s about harnessing it when it counts.
Offense Made Sugano Look Like An Ace
Coming into the game, Tomoyuki Sugano wasn’t exactly striking fear into hitters, with only nine punchouts in 28 innings. But facing the Yankees, he looked like a vintage ace dusted off from a baseball time capsule.
Sugano spun five scoreless innings, allowing just five hits and a walk while fanning eight.
It wasn’t just Sugano who looked sharp—the Yankees helped him and the O’s bullpen out, whiffing 15 times and drawing only a single walk. The offense looked more like they were chasing butterflies than baseballs, letting Sugano polish his ERA down to a gleaming 3.00.
Bullpen Offers a Silver Lining
If there’s a silver lining to a gray night, it was the Yankees’ bullpen, which stepped up after Warren’s early exit. Ryan Yarbrough was a rock, delivering 3.2 innings of clean, efficient relief with only one walk allowed and three strikeouts to his name.
Even Devin Williams, recently bumped from the closer’s role, showed signs of getting back on track. In his first low-pressure appearance since the demotion, he tossed a clean 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout, giving a glimmer of hope that he might soon reclaim late-inning duties.
The Yankees nearly pulled off the comeback, but “almost” doesn’t count in the standings.