Yankees' Will Warren May Have Just Saved His Job

The four-game series — one that featured a Saturday doubleheader — that the New York Yankees just played against the Boston Red Sox had bigger implications than you might think.

While the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has certainly lost steam over the years, make no mistake: it's still very significant, as these two ballclubs might see each other in the playoffs for the second straight October — and the fourth time since 2018 — this season.

So when New York and Boston faced one another in their four-game set at Yankee Stadium over the weekend, home-field advantage in a potential Wild Card Series matchup was on the line.

The Yankees ended up taking three out of four in rather resounding fashion, thumping the Red Sox to the tune of 16-1 in the final game of the series on Sunday afternoon.

And in the process, Will Warren turned in what was probably his best performance of the campaign, going seven innings and allowing just one run on six hits while registering seven strikeouts. The last time he went seven frames? April 18.

Heck, this also marked just the second time Warren has lasted a full six innings since May.

Warren faded down the stretch last year and struggled against better teams. But this time, he rose to the occasion, dominating the Red Sox in a pivotal matchup.

And given the news that Ryan Weathers — who is currently sidelined with an elbow injury — is slated to return at some point in September, the timing couldn't have been better for Warren, who appeared to be on track to head to the bullpen.

Let's face it: Weathers has been better than Warren for the vast majority of the season, and especially over the last two months or so. Warren surely knew that his job as a starting pitcher may have been on the line, and his outing versus Boston reflected that.

To be quite frank, both Weathers and Warren will be in the pen come October anyway. Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon will be the Yankees' top four starters, and you generally don't go with five starters in the postseason.

But that doesn't mean Warren would have been alright with essentially getting demoted with a few weeks remaining in the regular season.

At this point, Weathers will almost certainly head to the bullpen. If his injury didn't seal the deal, then Warren's performance on Sunday likely did.

Not that that's a bad thing. Weathers has the stuff to be a tremendous reliever. But the focus here is on Warren, who just showed some legitimate moxie in the face of extreme pressure.

Maybe he does have it in him, after all.