New York @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 5, 2025 ) NY Yankees 10, Pittsburgh 4
The New York Yankees will look to continue their historic home-run-hitting start while the host Pittsburgh Pirates will try to break out of their offensive woes when the teams face off Sunday afternoon in the finale of their three-game series.
The Yankees have 25 home runs entering Sunday's game, a major league record over a team's first eight games. The Pirates have barely scored more runs than that, with 27 through nine games.
New York's lineup continues to produce from top to bottom, as evidenced again in Saturday's 10-4 win, when Trent Grisham hit two home runs from the No. 9 spot.
The home runs have masked some mediocre outings from the Yankees' short-handed rotation, which overcame a poor start by Marcus Stroman that lasted only four innings on Saturday.
On Sunday, rookie right-hander Will Warren (0-0, 3.60 ERA) will try to give the Yankees some length when he opposes Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney (0-0, 1.80).
Heaney, a veteran pitching in his 12th major league season, threw five innings in his first start on March 30 against one of his former teams, the Miami Marlins, delivering one of the better outings this season by a Pirates starter. He gave up one run, four hits, walked one and struck out two.
But as it's been throughout most of the early going for the Pirates, they couldn't back up their starter and eventually lost 3-2.
Solid starts by Pittsburgh pitchers have not been the case vs. the Yankees as Bailey Falter gave up seven runs in four innings on Saturday. Heaney is 1-4 with a 4.71 ERA in eight career starts against the Yankees.
The Pirates' bullpen has also been alarmingly bad, particularly reliever Colin Holderman, who surrendered a three-run double to Anthony Volpe, which allowed the Yankees to pull away.
"We are trying to find him a spot, maybe earlier in the game to get him going," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said after Saturday's loss. "We've got to figure out a way to get him going."
Warren, who was moved into the rotation to open the season after injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt, lasted five innings in his first start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Warren gave up two earned runs, although he allowed one hit.
The four walks were the bigger issue, which overshadowed his four strikeouts, as was the one hit he allowed - a two-run home run to Corbin Carroll that followed one of those walks.
Warren, who is in his second season, has never started against the Pirates, but he pitched one forgettable inning in relief against them last season, allowing three earned runs, including a two-run home run to Nick Yorke.
"I think I belong here because I truly do think that I can play here for a long time," Warren told the New York Post this week. "I know what I'm capable of. I didn't really show it last year, but I think that's the learning curve, and just like moving on from those experiences and trying to learn from guys like (Carlos) Rodon and Gerrit and Stroman and Clarke, those guys have been through it."
Schmidt struck out seven over 3 1/3 innings on Saturday in his first rehab appearance since suffering right rotator cuff tendinitis. Per MLB.com, the Yankees hope Schmidt will need only one more rehab outing and potentially rejoin the rotation by April 15 or 16.
--Field Level Media