Yankees Salvage Series Finale vs. Arizona

The Yankees began the season by sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers, outscoring them 36-14 over 3 games. Things were looking good.

Then the Arizona Diamondbacks came into Yankee Stadium II for 3 games. Suffice it to say, they got better pitching.

Will Warren pitched 5 innings for the Yankees on Tuesday night, allowing 2 runs on 1 hit and 4 walks. Former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes did not pitch well, and gave up home runs to Jasson Domínguez and Anthony Volpe. The Yankees led 4-2 after 7 innings.

But Tim Hill and Mark Leiter Jr. flopped in the 8th, allowing 5 runs between them. A homer by Ben Rice in the 9th made no difference, and the Diamondbacks won, 7-5.

Between them, Carlos Rodón over 6 innings and Yoendrys Gómez over 3 allowed only 3 hits on Wednesday night. But, Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. And, between them, they walked 7 batters. The Yankees trailed 4-0 going to the bottom of the 9th. Volpe hit another homer, but it wasn't enough, and the Diamondbacks won, 4-3.

The Yankees were now 3-2 on the season, and people were beginning to wonder if their success in the Milwaukee series was a fluke, or because the Brewers are simply a bad team, despite having made the Playoffs in the last 2 seasons, and 6 of the last 7.

Carlos Carrasco, a former Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) ace, now 38 years old, started last night, and allowed 3 runs in 5 1/3rd innings. Add Adam Ottavino to the list of failed Yankee pitchers that general manager Brian Cashman has brought back. I guess Cashman didn't notice that Ottavino had been released by the Red Sox after a bad Spring Training. Or that he'd been awful with the Mets the last 2 seasons. Or that he was 39. But he wasn't part of the problem last night, pitching to 3 batters and getting 2 of them out.

Ryan Yarbrough was part of the problem, allowing a grand slam to Geraldo Perdomo in the 7th. Suddenly, a 9-3 Yankee lead, aided by home runs by Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisholm, was 9-7. Luke Weaver was needed for a 4-out save, and the Diamondbacks did not score again. Carrasco had his 1st win as a Yankee, the 111th of his career.

The Yankees are now 4-2, half a game behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Eastern Division. They hit the road, going to Pittsburgh and Detroit. They'll be lucky in one respect: The rotation means that they won't face the Pirates' Paul Skenes, the most exciting young pitcher in baseball.