The New York Yankees looked invincible on Wednesday afternoon in a 7-0 thumping over the St. Louis Cardinals at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL.
Following two masterful innings out of the bullpen last Friday, Will Warren continued to dazzle as New York’s starter. The 25-year-old righty twirled three perfect innings with four strikeouts on just 35 pitches.
“He looks great,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s one of those talks of the camp so far. It’s electric stuff.”
Warren has been untouchable in his first two appearances this spring after a less-than-favorable first impression with the major league club last year. Speaking with YES Network’s clubhouse reporter Meredith Marakovits after Wednesday’s game, Warren said he learned a lot from his initial stint in pinstripes.
“I don’t know if it’s a single thing [from last year] that set it apart, but just experience in general,” he said. “I think learning from those outings, from the success and from the failure, and closing the book and moving onto this year.”
This spring, Warren has implemented both a curveball and a changeup into his arsenal to more effectively attack left-handed batters. His newfound dominance has caught the attention of many figures within the Yankee camp, including catcher Austin Wells. The 25-year-old backstop wasn’t originally supposed to participate in games until March, but he opted to bump his debut to Wednesday so he could catch for Warren.
“The live [at-bats] were going good, and I wanted to catch Will [Warren],” he told Marakovits. “That was kind of the goal for me today was to just get back there and see Will in some games and try to get on the same page.”
Wells later told reporters: “I think [Warren’s] going to be an important part of the team. He’s got nasty stuff.
Riding the momentum of Warren’s masterclass, the Yankees broke the scoreless game wide open in the bottom of the third. Designated hitter Dominic Smith led off the inning with a high drive that cleared the wall in right-center field; it was his second homer in as many days.
After Pablo Reyes lined out to the shortstop, Oswald Peraza hit a single, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. worked a walk. What followed was back-to-back-to-back RBI singles from Jasson Dominguez, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt. Wells then crushed a two-run double to the warning track in left-center field, making it a 6-0 game before the Cards could stem the tide.
Wells was a finalist for the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Award; he finished third in the voting and ultimately lost to his flamethrowing teammate, Luis Gil. But after a fantastic rookie campaign with the Yankees, Wells is looking to make another leap this season.
“Just try to improve in all areas, really,” he told Marakovits, identifying his hitting and consistency as the primary areas of focus. “I’d like to be better every year, that’s my goal. I think looking back, there’s a lot to improve on but a lot to be happy about so just picking and choosing where to try to get better, knowing what makes me good and trying to stick with that.”
The New York bullpen thwarted any attempt of a St. Louis comeback, holding the Cardinals to just three hits the rest of the way. The Yankees tacked on one more run in the eighth after Jesus Rodriguez tripled and later scored on an Andrew Velazquez single.
For more on the Yankees and Will Warren, visit AMNY.com
