On a night when their lineup was silent for a third straight game and their defense was not good enough, the Yankees could have received perfection from their starting pitcher and let it go to waste.
Will Warren wasn’t perfect, but he was awfully impressive and seems to be gaining confidence by the start.
“Lost in [the game] a little bit is how dominant an outing he had,” manager Aaron Boone said after Tuesday’s 4-0 loss to the Angels in The Bronx.
The young righty struck out a career-high 11 in six strong innings in which he allowed three runs — runs that arose from well-placed batted balls and a pair of singles in which his defense could not keep the ball in the infield.
In the second, a diving DJ LeMahieu could not smother a ground ball from Luis Rengifo, which scored a run.
An inning later, Jazz Chisholm Jr. similarly deflected a single from Taylor Ward, albeit on a tougher play, to drive in two.
That represented the entirety of the Angels output against Warren, who retired the next and final 11 batters he faced after the Ward hit.
He commanded his four-seamer well in drawing eight whiffs and consistently got ahead in counts with his sinker.
“Thought that was the best he’s commanded his fastball,” Austin Wells said.
“You just see his fastball playing at another level right now,” Boone said of Warren, who has dropped his ERA from 5.65 on May 4 to 4.83. “Four-seam [pitches that batters] have a hard time picking up, that plays so well.”
Warren does not overwhelm with heat — his fastball averaged 93.4 mph — but its horizontal movement, lower arm slot, accuracy and some deception have helped him sail.
“I think from my slot and just getting it to the spots that we need it to be,” Warren said, “it catches them off guard.”
Paul Goldschmidt (0-for-4) played in his 2,000th career game, the fourth most for an active player.
He trails Andrew McCutchen (2,191), Carlos Santana (2,147) and Freddie Freeman (2,095).
After the game, the Yankees optioned righty Scott Effross to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, likely clearing the way for JT Brubaker to be activated.
Ben Rice was back in catcher’s gear before the game, squatting behind home plate during Luke Weaver’s live batting practice.
Boone said he still does not have a date for when Rice will catch a game, which he continues to say will happen at some point with Giancarlo Stanton back in the lineup.
Catching would give Rice — whose bat belongs but who is frequently out of the starting lineup because of the cramped position-player picture — another way into the order.
Rice and Trent Grisham began Tuesday on the bench while Jasson Domínguez played left, Cody Bellinger was in center, Goldschmidt started at first and Stanton served as designated hitter.
