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Game #150 Preview: Yankees @ Blue Jays

By Scott C.
Adam Warren.
Adam Warren.
Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The Blue Jays welcome the Yankees to town tonight to resume their battle for AL East supremacy. With Toronto's lead sitting at 2.5 games, there's a chance that New York leaves town in first place if they were able to get a sweep. It's unlikely though, as the pitching matchup tonight features David Price against righty Adam Warren who has pitched out of the bullpen for most of this season. After taking two out of three from both the Rays and Mets, the Yankees roll into town riding some good pitching performances although the Blue Jays will avoid having to face either Masahiro Tanaka or Michael Pineda.

Warren began the year in the rotation but was pushed to the bullpen through no fault of his own when some of the other Yankees starters got healthy. With the recent injuries to New York's hurlers, Warren was stretched out once again a few weeks ago to become part of the rotation for the important stretch run. The UNC alum has been pretty solid this season, pitching to a 3.33 ERA overall while the number is a slightly higher 3.63 when he starts the game.

Warren has made 15 starts this season, but none of them have come against the Blue Jays so the team hasn't gotten a chance to see him too much. The righty did make three relief appearances against Toronto over the course of two weeks in August, striking out 5 of the 11 batters he faced.

The former Tar Heel throws the four main pitches, mainly focusing on his fastball and slider against hitters on both sides of the plate. His third most used pitch, the changeup, has actually been his best offering (based off PITCHf/x values) and has been rarely hit at all by opposing teams.

You can see below what the Blue Jays will be looking at when they face Warren's pitches tonight. The changeup has heavy arm-side run and looks like nearly a mirror image of his slider in terms of movement:

Warren

Hopeful Lineup

Right-handed hitters have historically had more success against Warren so Chris Colab-....Never mind, it isn't worth it.

  1. Ben Revere LF
  2. Josh Donaldson 3B
  3. Jose Bautista RF
  4. Edwin Encarnacion DH
  5. Chris Colabello 1B
  6. Russell Martin C
  7. Ryan Goins SS
  8. Kevin Pillar CF
  9. Cliff Pennington 2B

Bullpen Usage

Brett Cecil and Mark Lowe won't be available for tonight's contest after two straight days of work, but David Price likely going deep into the game minimizes the impact of those absences.

Find the Link

Find the link between Adam Warren and the starter the Yankees faced last night.

So begins another one of the biggest series of the last two decades for the Blue Jays.

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