Someone is going to be sent to the bullpen, and Will Warren didn’t help his cause to avoid that fate Wednesday night.
When Carlos Rodón returns, it’s going to be either Warren or Ryan Weathers.
With the way Weathers has pitched of late, it is hard to see the Yankees demoting him.
Warren was coming off a terrific outing in a win over the Cubs, but after a strong start Wednesday, he struggled to go deep in the 3-1 loss to the Cardinals at the Stadium.
The right-hander was able to record only one out in the sixth after giving up four hits and three runs in the previous frame.
“There’s definitely a lot of uncertainty. I think it’s a good thing we have all these arms,” Warren said. “At the end of the day, my job is to take the ball every time I get it. Whenever that is, I’m going to go out there and try to execute.”
Warren did finish with five strikeouts, but he tired late, yielding five of his seven hits in the fifth and sixth innings. With Yankees hitters continuing to slump, he didn’t have much wiggle room and paid for that shaky fifth. He was close to getting out of the jam after coming back from a 3-1 count to strike out César Prieto for the second out.
But the next batter, JJ Wetherholt, doubled in two runs with a drive over Trent Grisham’s head in center field. Iván Herrera followed with another booming run-scoring double to center.
“I think there was a lot of good,” Warren said. “Obviously, I could’ve made a different pitch decision there to Wetherholt, possibly get out of that inning unscathed. It is what it is. I try to get as many outs as possible and keep us in the game. Overall, I think it was solid.”
Warren was coming off a shaky July, in which he pitched to a 5.47 ERA. But he did close it out well, tossing 6 ²/₃ innings of shutout ball against the Cubs.
Weathers, meanwhile, has allowed just one earned run over his past 20 ¹/₃ innings. He is getting stronger as the year gets deeper. Warren cannot say the same thing.
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Rodón is getting closer to returning. The left-hander last appeared for the Yankees on June 28 and has been dealing with left elbow inflammation.
He is scheduled to begin a rehabilitation assignment Saturday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
