Has your heart rate returned to normal after last night?
The Yankees pulled out one of the tightest wins you can ever have on Monday night, but they must also turn around and face one of the game’s best in game two of this big series. Fortunately, they’ll be able to counter with a pitcher that truly seems to be rounding into his own form, and while Will Warren isn’t quite as good as Dylan Cease, I’m not sure Dylan Cease is as good as he’s been pitching right now.
Cease boasts a stunning 34-percent
strikeout rate, the best of his career so far this season. A solid walk rate accompanies the whiffs, but what’s really helped him this year is the lack of home runs. Just a single baseball has left the yard in 52.1 innings this year, driving his FIP down to 1.80. Now, good pitchers typically don’t give up many home runs, but everyone leaves a ball or two over the plate once in a while. The Yankees are a good home run-hitting team, so they may be able to serve Cease up some immediate regression.
Do note that Cease is very much in the Blake Snell mold — he throws a lot of pitches and takes his time. For all his talent, it does suck to watch him.
Warren, meanwhile, has pushed himself to another level this year. His FIP stands at 3.00, and that from your No. 4 pitcher is a wonderful thing to have. Strikeouts are up, walks are down, and when guys are making contact he’s posted a new career best for lowest hard-hit rate. He still nibbles around the zone too much for my liking, especially once batters reach base, and cleaning that up is the next step in his continued development.
Speaking of development, Spencer Jones is back in the lineup, batting eighth and pulling DH duties. Austin Wells is behind the plate in the daily game of “can you stand there with a bat” that the Yankees play with their catchers.
How to watch
Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY
First pitch: 7:05 pm ET
TV broadcast: YES, SN1
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280, SN590 THE FAN
Streaming: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)
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