After a rough outing, Will Warren blamed his emotions more than his pitches.
The Yankees starting pitcher was victimized by three home runs, each coming off a different pitch, but his outing might be most remembered for a ball that found grass rather than seats.
In the second inning, Seattle’s Brendan Donovan lofted a high fly into shallow center. Trent Grisham’s first instinct was to jog in — he later acknowledged he got a bad read on the ball — before realizing the fly ball should be his.
The epiphany came too late, and George Lombard Jr.’s helpless lunge with his back to the plate was unsuccessful. The ball dropped for a gift double, and TV cameras caught Warren yelling in frustration.
“You got to be able to control your emotions,” Warren said after the 10-5 win over the Mariners in The Bronx. “I don’t think I did a very good job of that tonight, and that’s probably why I got ran out of there in the fifth.”
The second-inning misplay would not haunt him — Warren eventually induced a double play from Taylor Ward — but there were several other pitches that might.
Will Warren reacts dejectedly after giving up a home run to designated hitter Dominic Canzone in the third inning of the Yankees’ 10-5 loss to the Mariners on Aug. 12, 2026 at the Stadium. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Five batters into the game, the Yankees were down 3-0 because Randy Arozarena turned a sweeper that was not even in the strike zone into a two-run home run to right field — “Wow,” said manager Aaron Boone, who couldn’t believe Arozarena hooked the homer rather than sliced it into foul territory — and Julio Rodríguez redirected a four-seamer over the right field wall.
In the third, Dominic Canzone demolished a changeup to right — the 397-foot drive was no porch job — and the Mariners added another in the fifth when Fernando Cruz could not strand a runner Warren left on base.
Will Warren throws a pitch during the first inning of the Yankees’ win over the Mariners. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
“Overall, just behind in the count,” Warren said after he was charged with five runs in four-plus innings on six hits and four walks, “and they made me pay.”
At this point, Boone doesn’t have any plans to test Luis García Jr.’s defensive flexibility in a game. But Boone left the door open for that to happen at some point — whether it’s later in 2026 or beyond.
García, whom the Yankees acquired ahead of the trade deadline, played second base — and struggled doing so — with the Nationals before switching to first base full-time this year. But with a logjam at first base with Ben Rice, and second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. stumbling and a free agent in the offseason, García taking grounders at other positions, as he did before Tuesday’s game, could become a more common scene.
“Yeah, we’ll see,” Boone said when asked about García playing another position. “Kinda had him making sure he works out there all the time, and you watch him and I feel like he’s got real natural actions to me. … Just watching him work and move and things like that, I feel like he could.”
Boone brought up García’s defensive versatility unprompted before the game, when asked about García fitting into the clubhouse and adding value at first base.
Luis Garcia Jr. during his first game in The Bronx on Aug. 3, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“I feel like there’s more in there for him defensively,” Boone said of the 26-year-old, who has played 508 games at second base, 70 at shortstop and 101 at first base throughout his career entering play Wednesday. García had a minus-seven Outs Above Average at second base, according to Baseball Savant, and a minus-17 Defensive Runs Saved last season, according to FanGraphs — capturing the risk involved with any potential position switch.
But Boone and infield coach Dan Fiorito have been impressed by García’s arm, and Fiorito added that García can slow the game down when balls are hit at him and has good hands.
“We’ll kinda wait and see where everything kind of transitions,” Fiorito told The Post. “I mean, you saw García out here [Tuesday] taking ground balls at second and third, and that’s something that we’ll do with all first basemen — just kinda like working around the infield, doing it for their athleticism standpoints. We’ll see what kind of things open up for us as the year progresses.”
Kervin Castro, who was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with right elbow neuritis, could return this season, Boone said, although he might cut it close.
The righty, who had been quietly effective in the bullpen (one run in 6 ⅓ innings), went down in late May with an injury that Boone said was similar and wound up sidelined for five weeks. There are six and a half weeks left in the season.
Go beyond the box score with the Bombers
Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+.
Thank you
Clarke Schmidt, who felt forearm cramping during a live batting practice Aug. 4, still has not returned to a mound.
Schmidt, whom the Yankees have said has seen a doctor who believed the issue was just cramps rather than something more serious, has been throwing but on flat ground.
Yankees Merch Shop
New York Post receives revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and when you make a purchase.
“I know the last couple of days have gotten better each day throwing,” Boone said of Schmidt, who is hoping to return as a bullpen option this season after 2025 Tommy John surgery.
Giancarlo Stanton (calf strain) ran the bases for a second straight day and appeared to come through OK. His next step, and if and when he would begin a rehab assignment, remains unclear.
