Spencer Jones & Rosario HR’s Back Will Warren Gem. NY 2 Cubs 0

August 1, 2026 paperbacklou 2026 0
Spencer Jones solo HR puts NY up 2-0 in 5th inning.

Will Warren got back in the saddle with his best performance of the year — a 4-hit shutout into the 7th — and Amed Rosario and Spencer Jones hit solo HR’s to give him and the Yanks a 2-0 win over the Cubs in Chicago on a sunny, humid Friday afternoon — with a thunderstorm starting just as the game finished.

Warren struck out 7 and walked 0 — and had a 2-hit shutout with 2 outs in the 7th before allowing consecutive singles and yielding to Paul Blackburn — who pitched 1.1 innings of shutout relief. David Bednar got another non-agita save.

Warren wins to go 8-5 4.14. It was his first win since May 31st, when he was 7-1 3.22.

“He was awesome,” said manager Aaron Boone about Warren. “It’s a very good lineup over there. The secondary stuff was where it was at for him today. He did such a good job of spinning the ball, throwing a changeup, and then using fastball enough too to keep them honest. He was super efficient and that right there is what he’s capable of when he’s on his game.”

“Just trusting the stuff in the zone; getting ahead,” said Warren about his performance. “Last week was the opposite; we weren’t ahead. That puts us on our heels. When we attack the zone early you’re forcing them to make swings they might not want to make and the results are usually in our favor.”

“Coming in I feel like we kind of got away from it (his off-speed stuff) — trying to hammer fastball home,” added Warren. “Just going back to who I am and throwing nasty stuff up there.”

“I had fun today for the first time in a long time, which is good,” added Warren. “At the end of the day it’s a kids’ game; and its hard showing up every day to remember that.

NY improves to 62-48, and are 2.5 behind Tampa and 3.5 ahead of Boston. Chicago drops to 62-48, in 2nd in the NL Central, 5.5 behind Milwaukee.

1. Warren Gets Back in the Saddle with GEM

Will Warren has had a tough June and July — and with the return of Gerrit Cole and Max Fried has been hanging by a thread in the Yankee rotation — only still there because Carlos Rodon is temporarily out.

He was put into the bullpen for one appearance — and didn’t do well, allowing a walk and a hit while getting 2 outs — then got bombed in his next start (which was his last start before this one) for 6 runs in 3 innings, after which he said he preferred being a starter.

So that was the scene coming into this game — with the trade deadline approaching in 3 days. Ironically, the great start makes him a more tradeable commodity — he may have pitched himself off the Yankees.

Warren used his multi-pitch arsenal to keep the Cubs off balance — using his 86-MPH changeup and 94-MPH four-seam fastball with intermittent 86-MPH sweeper, 82-MPH curveball, and 93-MPH sinker.

The sinker got him groundouts, the sweeper got him fly outs or line outs, the 4-seam fastball and changeup got him strikeouts.

Warren allowed a 1-out single in the 1st but erased the runner with a double play, then motored thru the Cubs lineup with 1-2-3 innings in the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th.

2. Rosario HR Gives Yanks 1-0 Lead in 4th

On the mound for Chicago was Shota Imanaga — the 32-year-old, 5’10 lefty who is in his 3rd MLB season with the Cubs.

He was tough too — striking out Yankees with his tough 82-MPH splitter.

Imanaga retired the first 11 Yankees in a row — but with 2 outs in the 4th, Amed Rosario smacked a solo HR 450 feet to center for a 1-0 Yankee lead.

3. S Jones HR Gives Yanks 2-0 Lead in 5th

Spencer Jones got to Imanaga with 2 outs in the 5th — ripping a 418-foot bomb to right center for a 2-0 Yankee lead.

4. Blackburn Good

Warren was cruising — getting the first 2 outs of the 7th for 12 retired in a row — with help from Paul Goldschmidt who made a tremendous play at 1st on a liner down the line by Busch for the 2nd out.

But that was a sign of Warren tiring — next batter Alex Bregman singled to center and then Ian Happ singled to right and that was it for Warren.

Paul Blackburn came in — fresh off his first bad outing in months when he allowed back-to-back HR’s to blow a hold for Cam Schlittler.

With 2 outs and 2 on, Blackburn got a grounder up the middle that Anthony Volpe made a good play on, tossing to Jose Caballero at 2nd for the force out — but the umps called the runner safe saying Caballero was off the bag — loading the bases with 2 outs. But Caballero instructed the Yankee dugout to challenge as he ran off the field knowing he had made the out — and the challenge was successful.

Blackburn then struck out the side 1-2-3 in the 8th.

5. Bednar the Non-Agita Save

David Bednar pitched yet another non-agita save in the 9th — allowing a 1-out single to Ramirez to bring the tying run to the plate, but getting fly out and groundout for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401816339

 

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