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Yankees Get Solid Start from their Young Pitcher
Apr 3, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Will Warren (29) delivers a pitch during the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Will Warren took the mound for the New York Yankees home opener. When manager Aaron Boone and the organization's brass decided on a four-man rotation, it was an easy move to slot Warren in there. He was a solid back-end starter in 2025, but this spring he was lights-out.

Given how the schedule played out, Max Fried missed his chance to open up Yankee Stadium by a game. Still, Warren was excellent, and his lone blemishes were two solo shots, which, considering that he sometimes had some ugly blow-up innings last season, his performance was night and day from how it could have gone if he were in the same position in 2025.

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

On the day, Warren pitched 5.2 innings. He struck out six, gave up four hits, but didn't allow a walk.

When Xavier Edwards homered off of him in the first, the Marlins didn't get on the board again off of him until the fifth. Owen Cassie hit another solo shot.

Warren had a chance at getting a quality start, but a single in the sixth and a slow groundball off the bat that traveled all of four feet and resulted in an infield single put two runners on with one out. It wasn't hard contact by any means, but to preserve the lead, Boone went with Tim Hill to clean up the mess on the basepaths. Hill did his job, keeping Warren's stat line to two earned runs on the day.

After the game, Warren was asked about the key to the starting rotation's success. For him, it's about being aggressive in the zone.

"If we attack early, the odds are in our favor," Warren said, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman. "We're attacking early and throwing strikes and have confidence in our stuff to put us in a position to be successful. Our lineup is a beast. We know they're gonna put up runs."

The Rotation

Yankees starters have allowed four earned runs in total in seven games. Half of them came at the hands of those Marlins solo shots off of Warren. They are one of three teams whose starters have not amassed double-digit runs, and the Yankees would probably like to keep it that way for a bit.

So far, that rotation as a whole has a .92 ERA in 39.1 innings. It has been the team's strength while the Yankees' offense tries to find its footing. Considering that, on the day Judge homered and got on base multiple times, they may be close to the type of offense they anticipated all winter. The Yankees can be a dangerous team if they start clicking at the right time.

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This article first appeared on New York Yankees on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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