Will Warren flashes maturation by navigating early jam in Yankees win: Didnt blink

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.DENVER — Just as it looked like he had turned a corner, Will Warren loaded the bases before recording an out Sunday afternoon.That just set the stage for Aaron Boone gushing about his young right-hander’s start hours later.Warren limited the damage to just two runs, with some help defensively from Anthony Volpe, and went on to retire 12 of the final 13 batters he faced before the rain ended his day early in what became a 5-4 Yankees win over the Rockies at Coors Field.“I love this outing for Will Warren,” Boone said.

“That’s adversity right out of the gate.… Just didn’t blink.”Warren entered the day having allowed just three runs over 18 innings in his past three outings combined after a rough start to the season.

But his maturation was put to the test when he gave up back-to-back singles in the bottom of the first and then walked a batter to load the bases.One run came in on a wild pitch and another scored on a groundout as the Rockies went up 2-1.But Warren then struck out Brenton Doyle and got Ezequiel Tovar to ground out on a terrific play from Anthony Volpe to escape further trouble.From there, Warren turned dominant, at one point retiring 11 straight and striking out five consecutive batters — three on his sweeper — into the fourth inning.“I think it was good,” Warren said.

“First inning I give up the two, but I think I stayed within our game plan and within myself.Kept making competitive pitches and tried to keep it minimal to let this offense score some runs.”During the 1-hour, 46-minute rain delay in the top of the fifth, the Yankees had Warren simulate two innings underneath the stands to keep him moving and ready if play had resumed about 30 minutes earlier.

Instead, the delay lasted too long and Warren was done after four innings in which he proved his mettle.“Maybe six months ag...