LOS ANGELES -- The conversation took place a few days ago, mostly consisting of Gerrit Cole speaking and Will Warren listening. Sidelined during this marquee series against the Dodgers, the injured ace was dispensing wisdom to the young pitcher, including this prediction: “You’re going to have the most adrenaline in your life -- so just go ahead and wrap your mind around that.”
Warren nodded, attempting to absorb each nugget from a veteran who has been there. Cole called pitching in Dodger Stadium as a rookie “a big-time deal,” noting there might be 50,000 people sharing their opinions of each warmup pitch. Helpful? Sure, but that information didn’t carry Warren far in an 18-2 loss to the defending World Series champions.
The 25-year-old was torched for seven runs, recording only four outs. Los Angeles sent 10 men to the plate in a four-run first inning. Max Muncy launched a three-run homer on Warren’s 57th and final pitch in the second -- the first of Muncy’s two long balls in a seven-RBI performance, tying his career high.
“That’s a good team. When you make mistakes, they’re magnified,” Warren said. “I was on my heels. I talk about executing and being aggressive in the zone, and today didn’t go that way for me. They took advantage of it.”
Aaron Judge homered twice in the loss, his 20th and 21st of the season, placing him one behind Shohei Ohtani and the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh for the Major League lead. The captain had indicated this weekend would represent a measuring stick. Dropping the first two games shows there is still more ground for Warren and the Yankees to cover.
“It’s definitely been a tough few games here,” said outfielder Cody Bellinger. “But we haven’t lost confidence in the group of guys here. The only thing we can do is get after it here tomorrow and do everything we can to win.”
Added first baseman Paul Goldschmidt: “The focus has to be on coming out and playing well [Sunday]. Regardless of what’s going to happen with this series, we know that there’s a lot of season left.”
The lopsided outcome handed the Yankees their first series loss since May 2-4 vs. Tampa Bay -- a streak which had prompted some Bombers, like catcher Austin Wells, to grow out beards as long as the wins kept coming. Razors might make the rounds now; as for the clean-shaven Warren, he will be more focused on how the game spiraled so quickly. This was not an outing he intended to flush quickly.
“I’m going to let it soak in,” Warren said. “It hurts. It sucks. I let the team down.”
Four batters in, pitching coach Matt Blake was already visiting the mound. His counsel couldn’t halt a barrage that included run-scoring hits from Will Smith and Muncy, a Michael Conforto sacrifice fly, and a Tommy Edman RBI double that nicked Jorbit Vivas’ glove at third base.
As Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, his team “did a really good job of getting to the fastball, just kind of keeping the line moving.” Warren escaped the 39-pitch first by getting Ohtani to chase a sinker with the bases loaded; had Warren not retired Ohtani there, Boone said he would have pointed to the bullpen.
“I was hoping he could settle in and give us a little something,” Boone said.
But the damage resumed quickly. Muncy’s homer ended Warren’s day, and Hyeseong Kim belted a two-run shot off Brent Headrick as part of the six-run second inning. The rout was on, leaving Boone to rifle through his bullpen choices, including using high-leverage arms like Devin Williams and Luke Weaver in odd situations.
Muncy launched a three-run shot off Mark Leiter Jr., then Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing also cleared the fences late. The Dodgers have never scored more runs against the Yankees (regular season and postseason), surpassing their 13-run output in Game 2 of the 1956 World Series at Ebbets Field.
“It always feels good to beat the Yankees,” Roberts said. “They’re the class of the American League right now. Any time you can beat those guys, you feel good.”
Not so for Warren, who wore a glum expression as he conducted his postgame chat. Having pitched to a 2-0 record and 2.05 ERA over his previous four starts, Warren had been riding high, boasting one of the highest K/9 ratios in the Majors this season while earning praise from Cole, Boone and others.
Despite Saturday’s drubbing, Boone remained upbeat about the improvements Warren has made since his Major League debut last July, saying Warren’s accumulated experience thus far has already proven valuable.
“He has learned a lot from every situation, from adversity through some success. This is a hard game, you know?” Boone said. “You’re going to take your lumps sometimes, and we’ll be better for having gone through that. He has all the equipment to move right through this and be excellent.”
Senior Reporter Bryan Hoch has covered the Yankees for MLB.com since 2007.