NEW YORK — Four home runs. Seven walks. Thirteen runs scored. Cody Bellinger going deep twice. J.C. Escarra with three RBI out of nowhere. The Yankees offense stole the show Saturday in the 13-4 rout of the Royals.
But step back and look at the Yankees pitching line. Seven innings. Eleven strikeouts. Zero walks. One run. Carter Jensen’s solo homer in the seventh was the only damage the Royals could manage all afternoon.
Yankees starter Will Warren matched a career high with those 11 punchouts and quietly turned in the best start of his 2026 season. The kind of outing that gets overshadowed by a nine-run margin. The kind the Yankees front office needs to notice anyway.
Warren does what he hadn’t done all season
Through Warren’s first four Yankees starts this season, he reached five innings just once. The Angels knocked him out of the fourth inning in his previous start. Efficiency had been the issue. He was getting strikeouts but spending too many pitches to get there.
Saturday was different for the Yankees on both counts. Warren got through seven innings without issuing a single walk, retiring Royals hitters in order or close to it for long stretches. The Royals swung at his four-seam fastball 26 times and missed on seven of them. He also collected five called strikeouts with his sinker and changeup, pitches that ran away from Kansas City’s left-handed hitters all afternoon.
Warren was asked afterward about his previous Yankees starts and the standard he holds himself to. His honesty about the gap between expectation and performance set up exactly why Saturday mattered.
“Our job as a starter is to go as long as possible and get as many outs,” Warren said. “I hadn’t been doing that to the standard that I hold myself. So today was really nice to go out there and do that.”
He also described how much the Yankees’ early lead changed the tenor of his afternoon. With a 5-0 cushion handed to him before the third inning was over, Warren could attack rather than manage.
“It’s nice to go out there with a lead,” Warren said. “I’m able to keep my composure knowing the boys are banging like that.”
The pickoff that told the whole story
One play in the fourth captured what Saturday meant for the Yankees. Bobby Witt Jr. reached base with one out. The Royals’ star shortstop began creeping off first, looking for an angle to steal.
Warren had recently talked with first baseman Ben Rice about varying the timing on pickoff moves to keep runners guessing. He caught Witt drifting in the corner of his eye and made his move. Quick turn. Throw to Rice. Witt, diving back to his left, was out.
Warren broke down the moment simply: “I felt like I could see him, and I took a chance, and it worked out.”
Aaron Boone called it for what it was. “The pickoff was a big play,” the Yankees manager said.
That kind of situational awareness, reading a baserunner while in the stretch, trusting the preparation work done with a teammate, is what separates a developing pitcher from a reliable one. Warren showed both on the same play.
A rotation argument Warren is quietly winning
The Yankees face a real rotation decision in the coming weeks. Gerrit Cole threw his first rehab start Friday at Double-A Somerset. Carlos Rodon threw live batting practice Saturday morning and needs three rehab starts before returning. When both rejoin the Yankees, two current starters lose their spots.
Max Fried and Cam Schlittler are safe. The others are not. Ryan Weathers sits at a 4.29 ERA. Luis Gil carries a 7.00 ERA and the Yankees have concerns about whether his fastball velocity and command have returned. Warren, now 2-0 with a 2.49 Yankees ERA through five starts, is the clearest case for staying.
Boone described what he has seen from Warren this season in terms that went beyond Saturday’s box score. The Yankees manager pointed to something mechanical and repeatable.
“What’s stood out to me is how much swing-and-miss he is getting with his fastball,” Boone said. “He’s got a unique delivery and slot that allows that to play. He’s a better pitcher now than he was last year and the end of last year and he keeps growing.”
Warren also enters the rotation conversation with a durability argument. He made 33 starts in 2025, tying for the most in the American League. Neither Weathers nor Gil can match that track record.
J.C. Escarra framed what Saturday looked like from behind the plate. Asked about Warren at his best, the Yankees catcher kept it tight.
“When he’s in the zone,” Escarra said, “he’s lights out.”
The Yankees scored 13 runs. Bellinger hit two homers. The offense got the headlines. Warren earned something quieter: a convincing argument for his name to stay on the rotation sheet when Cole and Rodon come back.
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