Warren waiting to see if he'll stay in rotation

HOUSTON -- The line of questioning is all too familiar for Adam Warren these days. He may be living on borrowed time as a member of the Yankees' rotation, but the right-hander is trying to stay out of the crosshairs of that upcoming decision.

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Warren was saddled with the loss in the Yankees' 4-0 loss to the Astros on Thursday, winding up on the wrong side of Dallas Keuchel's complete-game gem. It was the 14th outing of the year for Warren, who said that he feels he has competed well with the challenge of taking the ball every fifth day.

"I'm pleased with the way I've competed and how much I've learned as a starter," Warren said. "I'm trying to take it one day at a time, but I'm very pleased with how far I've come since the beginning of the year."

This wasn't Warren's sharpest outing of the season, but he battled against the Astros' lineup and held them to three runs (two earned) and five hits over 5 2/3 innings.

"I just feel like I was using all my pitches," Warren said. "I was just trying to get in good counts. I feel like when I got in trouble was when I got in bad counts. I was just trying to take advantage of their aggressiveness."

Warren has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last nine starts, which ties him with the Rays' Chris Archer for the Majors' longest active streak. Run support has been an ongoing issue, as Warren is 3-4 with a 3.04 ERA over that span.

"He pitched extremely well again tonight," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He's been really consistent for us. It's too bad we didn't get him some runs."

The Yankees are operating with a six-man rotation for the time being, having welcomed Ivan Nova back into the fold this week. Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda and CC Sabathia appear to be secure, and the Yanks plan to continue developing Nathan Eovaldi as a starter, which sets Warren up to be the odd man out.

"I haven't been told anything," Warren said.

Girardi said that no decision has been made, but Warren's previous success in the bullpen pegs him as an ideal fit to help out a relief crew that has looked like a revolving door in recent weeks. Girardi has said that no final call will be made until at least the off-day July 2, following the Angels series.

"He's pitched as well as anyone in our rotation," Girardi said before Thursday's game. "As I've said, we don't need to make a decision right now. I'm not worried about making a decision right now. I know there's a lot of people around here who want me to make a decision right now, but that's not going to happen.

"There are a lot of things that can happen between now and when we get back from Anaheim. There just is. Let's just see how guys are doing and we'll make a decision."