Big bashers join Yanks -- but not where they're needed as bats stay cold 

BOSTON – Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton made it to Fenway Park this weekend, with manager Aaron Boone describing it as “a sight for sore eyes” to see the sluggers duck through the doorway into the visitors’ clubhouse.

The stars were here mostly for moral support, but the Yankees could have used their presence in the lineup. Held hitless into the sixth inning by Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle, the Yankees were dealt a 6-1 loss on Friday evening, their sixth defeat in nine games.

Spencer Jones snapped Tolle’s string of 16 consecutive batters retired with a sixth-inning single, the only hit Tolle permitted across seven dominant frames.

“I think he just did a good job of filling up the zone,” Jones said. “It felt like a lot of guys, he was just getting ahead in the count and then he was able to do what he wanted to do with certain pitches. Credit to him: He was able to execute and get out ahead.”

While Tolle carved through the Yanks, striking out seven, Will Warren struggled to generate swings and misses – just seven out of 43 swings. That led to one of Warren’s roughest outings of the season, knocked for five runs on seven hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings.

“They came out aggressive today,” Warren said. “I don’t know how many two-strike counts I had, but I don’t think it was that many, which is fine. Put the ball in play; we’ll get outs that way. They just happened to have some big hits in there, too, that led to some runs.”

Willson Contreras was a catalyst, stroking a run-scoring single in the first inning, then clipping his 17th home run of the season in the third.

But Contreras’ third plate appearance was his most eventful.

Irked after being buzzed with fastballs up and in by Warren, the Boston first baseman jawed toward the mound following a fifth-inning walk, briefly prompting both benches and bullpens to empty – a situation Boone said “seemed kind of ridiculous.”

“I think that’s what he does a lot,” Boone said. “His arms hang over the plate, so I don’t know where we’re supposed to go. There’s probably a method to what he’s doing. He probably wants that, but obviously nothing’s going on.”

Umpires issued warnings to both clubs before play resumed.

“I’m trying to make a pitch, up and in. That’s it,” Warren said. “I’m making a pitch, being competitive. He said something, so I said something back.”

Contreras said he considered the back-and-forth “part of the game.”

“Many people can look at it in different ways,” Contreras said. “I look at it one way.”

Warren permitted more than three earned runs for just the second time in 16 starts this season (also May 6 vs. Texas). Of particular concern are Warren’s recent struggles against left-handed hitters.

In his first nine starts, Warren limited lefties to a .231/.286/.418 slash line (98 batters faced). Over his past seven, that has inched up to .289/.362/.398 (95 batters faced).

“I’ve just got to find a way to get them out,” Warren said. “I’ve dealt with that in the Minor Leagues. The four-seam [fastball] kind of changed that, but obviously they’re on it right now. We’ll figure it out and move on.”

Boone said he’d like to see Warren establish more of a presence on both sides of the plate.

“He’s got to be able to spin it. His changeup needs to be a factor still,” Boone said. “Execution becomes paramount, so both sides of the plate and doing that with lefties, it’s key.”

Still leading the American League East at 48-33, the Yankees are attempting to remain afloat as they play without Judge (stress fracture of right rib), Stanton (right calf strain) and Trent Grisham (right hamstring strain), among other injuries.

Of that group, Grisham is the closest to returning, having run the bases on Friday in Boston. Stanton has resumed light workouts following a setback, while Boone said Judge isn’t ready to be re-imaged yet.

“They’re here, checking in and seeing their teammates,” Boone said before the game. “It’s a sight for sore eyes, seeing those guys walk in the door, what they mean to our team.”

Still, even as the outs piled up, Jones said the dugout chatter remained positive.

“This group does a good job,” Jones said. “It was on to the next guy, like, ‘Let’s go, let’s break it up, let’s put some hits together and get some guys on base.’ That was the vibe in the dugout, like, ‘Let’s get something going here.’”