Yankees Announce Starting Pitchers for Orioles Series: Will Warren Looks to Redeem Himself in Baltimore

Here's the probable pitching matchups for the Yankees' three-game set against the Orioles.

New York Yankees pitcher Will Warren has struggled mightily on the mound over the last several weeks. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Yankees will continue their six-game road trip on Tuesday evening, as they will square off against the Baltimore Orioles for three games, who surprisingly hold the final spot in the American League Wild Card race.

The Yankees avoided being swept by the Blue Jays over the weekend, squeaking out a 4-3 extra-innings win on Sunday. New York has received solid pitching from its starting rotation, except for Will Warren, but the offense has struggled to put runs on the board.

This month alone, the Yankees have scored two or fewer runs in eight games. Their record in those games is 3-6, which is not a recipe for success. But manager Aaron Boone is hoping that things will turn around against the O’s, as the Yankees lead the season series 5-2.

The last time these two teams played each other back in May, the Orioles took two out of three games from the Yankees at Camden Yards. To open up this early-week series, the Yankees will turn to Will Warren on Tuesday, who hasn’t been good this month and is in desperate need of a great start.

We’ll break down who Warren will face on Baltimore’s side, along with the other two games in this divisional rival matchup.

Tuesday, August 18 (6:35 p.m. ET): Will Warren (NYY) vs. Shane Baz (BAL)

As we previously alluded to, the 27-year-old Warren is off to a not-so-good start on the mound this month. The right-handed hurler has a 7.71 ERA and an opponents' batting average of .333 in two starts. He’s also giving up 13 hits, eight earned runs, and three home runs.

Warren’s performance on the mound has gotten progressively worse. He had an ERA of 2.59 in March/April, which went up to 3.82 in May, 5.49 in June, 5.47 in July, and is now almost 8.00 this month.

With an offense struggling to score runs right now, depending on Warren to provide a quality start is a dangerous proposition. However, the right-handed starter has been successful against Baltimore this season, with a 2-0 record and 2.25 ERA, while holding them to a .156 average.

Will Warren's past success against the Orioles could give the Yankees hope that he's about to turn things around. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In the other dugout, the Yankees’ bats will be trying to figure out Shane Baz. The right-handed starter has a 4-12 record and a 4.00 ERA in 24 starts this season. The Orioles have lost Baz’s last five starts, who has a 4.15 ERA this month.

Under the hood, Baz’s metrics aren’t great. Opponents are hitting .268 (career-worst) off him this season, and he has a 42.5 hard-hit rate (second-highest of his career). The Yankees saw Baz earlier this year in the Bronx, where they blasted him for six runs (five earned) and five hits (one home run) in a 12-1 win. Baz struggled with his command at the start, allowing five walks, despite racking up four strikeouts.

If there were a game for the Yankees’ offense to find itself, it would be this one. But it's hard to trust Warren, who has been getting shellacked every time he goes on the mound recently.

Game 1 pitching advantage: Even

Wednesday, August 19 (6:35 p.m. ET): Max Fried (NYY) vs Chris Bassitt (BAL)

After giving the ball to Warren in the series opener, the Yankees will turn to Fried, who has been dynamite this month. The southpaw has a 1.08 ERA while holding opponents to a .179 average at the plate.

Fried has been unhittable, giving up 3.3 hits per start this month, which the Orioles don’t want to see as they’re slugging .239 against left-handed pitching (17th in the majors) this season. That said, Baltimore has had Fried’s number this season, tagging him for 11 hits and six earned runs in two starts. But the Orioles ended up on the winning side of the scoreboard once, which was on May 13.

New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried has been dynamite this month, sporting a 1.08 ERA. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Meanwhile, the 37-year-old Bassitt has a 4-4 record and 5.11 ERA through 13 appearances (11 starts) this season. The veteran pitcher has been terrible on the road (1-3, 7.28 ERA) compared to at home (3-1, 3.09 ERA).

Bassitt missed considerable time this year due to back surgery that he underwent in late June after being initially placed on the IL earlier that month. He made his return to the mound last week against the Rays, where he surrendered five hits, three walks and two earned runs, while striking out three in 5.1 innings.

With this being Bassitt’s second start since coming back from surgery, it will be interesting to see if he picks up where he left off last week against this struggling Yankees’ offense. That said, Fried’s stellar performance on the mound right now gives New York an edge.

Game 2 pitching advantage: Yankees

Wednesday, August 20 (6:40 p.m. ET): Gerrit Cole (NYY) vs. Kyle Bradish (BAL)

To wrap up the three-game set at Camden Yards, the Yankees will send Cole to the mound to battle Bradish for the Orioles.

The 35-year-old Cole has been pitching outstanding this month, just like Fried. The right-handed starter has a 2-1 record and a 1.93 ERA through three starts. After struggling with the long ball in June (7) and July (4), he hasn’t given up a single home run this month. Cole hasn’t faced the Orioles yet this season, but in his career, he’s done fairly well against them: 7-3 record and 2.39 ERA over 15 starts.

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole has thrown the ball well through three starts this month. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Yankees should feel quite confident with Cole on the mound, as he gives them their best chance to either win this series or, better yet, get the sweep. However, the Yankees shouldn’t overlook Bradish, who has been good at home this season (3-5, 3.34 ERA, and .188 OBA in 11 starts).

The 29-year-old starting pitcher has thrown six innings in back-to-back starts heading into the series finale. Bradish has faced New York twice this season, going 1-1 in those matchups.

The last meeting was at Camden Yards on May 13, where Bradish threw six shutout innings of one-hit ball, while walking three batters and racking up seven strikeouts. This game might be the best pitching matchup of this entire three-game series.

While it’s totally possible to see Cole dominating this O’s lineup, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Yankees’ bats struggle with Bradish.

Game 3 pitching advantage: Even

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