A Position Player Pitched for the Yankees, And It's WAY Worse Than You Think

Alright, so if you were like me, probably watching the Mariners kick some butt or just enjoying a quiet Saturday in the Emerald City, you might’ve missed what went down in New York. The Yankees got absolutely shelled, a 10-2 beatdown from the Reds, and get this: it ended with a *position player* on the mound. Yeah, you read that right. And honestly, it spotlights a deeper mess for a team that's usually riding high. Will Warren, their ace who basically guarantees a win every time he steps on the rubber, just got saddled with his second loss of the year, his first since May 6. This ain't good.

The Defense Just Crumbled, Man

Warren has been lights-out for them this season, truly. Before Saturday, his team had a ridiculous 12 wins in his 14 starts, the best winning percentage for any pitcher with at least 10 outings. Paul Goldschmidt, a veteran on that team, even said he just *feels* like they have a chance to win every time Warren's out there. Well, not today. The Reds rookie third baseman, Sal Stewart, went off for a career-high six RBIs. But the real gut punch? The Yanks’ defense. This was their most lopsided defeat of the season, and four of those runs Warren gave up were unearned. It started in the third when right fielder Jasson Domínguez made a sick shoestring grab on a JJ Bleday fly ball, but then he threw to the wrong base, missing a shot at doubling Edwin Arroyo off second. Domínguez admitted he "just rushed to throw the ball" and knew it was a "bad throw." Manager Aaron Boone called Domínguez's play in right a "work in progress," even though Domínguez feels "more natural" there than he did in left last year. Then, in the fifth, Ben Rice couldn't cle

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anly pick a throw, totally opening the floodgates. That mistake set up a Stewart sac fly and, eventually, Spencer Steer's three-run bomb. Warren went 5 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits, two walks, and striking out eight. He felt his "stuff felt great today," but man, the defense just hung him out to dry.

A Veteran's Frustration and a Crazy End

While the defense imploded, the offense wasn't exactly lighting it up either. Goldschmidt did smack his 12th homer of the season, his sixth against left-handed pitching, and his fourth in the last seven games. You love to see a veteran finding his power stroke. But aside from that, the Yankees just couldn't string anything together. Goldschmidt had a big chance with the bases loaded in the fifth to chip away at the deficit, but he got rung up on a called third strike. He even challenged it with ABS, saying he wouldn't have in a different situation, but "unfortunately for us, it was on the corner." Ouch. The score kept ballooning. Stewart delivered a bases-clearing double in the eighth off Ryan Yarbrough, which was the final straw. That’s when Boone decided to send a *position player*, Max Schuemann, to the mound for the ninth. Seriously! Schuemann was tossing lobs that topped out at a whopping 49.8 mph, but hey, he got through a scoreless frame, navigating around a walk and a single. He's now rocking a 0.00 career ERA, which is kinda funny when you think about it, but it just screams desperation. Goldschmidt's postgame quote was short and to the point: "Let’s move on and be ready to go tomorrow. They played better than us. They beat us today. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow." Here's hoping they actually are, because this kind of early-season slump, especially with defensive blunders, can really snowball.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.