The Yankees have been pretty workmanlike of late, putting up four straight series wins going back to when the Padres were in town two weeks ago. Their wins are coming big, and their losses are close, the calling card of a strong baseball team. Texas, meanwhile, finds themselves in the thick of a fierce AL West race, two games behind the division-leading Mariners but just three and a half games up on the last-place Angels. Their offense disappointed early on, so they fired hitting coach Donnie Ecker (who oversaw the 2023 champs) and made the curious decision to hire Bret Boone, a former All-Star and brother of Yankees skipper Aaron, but someone with no pro coaching experience. No matter who’s in charge of the hitters though, the Rangers currently miss Corey Seager, who is out with a hamstring injury. Wyatt Langford and Josh Jung have been humming, but the results from Marcus Semien and Joc Pederson in particularly have been grim.
The Yankees have been putting up wins, and the Rangers need some, so it should be a fun series.
Tuesday — Will Warren vs. Patrick Corbin (7:05pm EST)
It’s possible we’re starting to see Warren figure it out. The ERA is still an unsightly 4.61, but the building blocks of a good MLB pitcher are starting to shine through. He hasn’t given up a home run since May 4th against Tampa, and has struck out 16 against two walks in 12.1 combined innings out west against the Mariners and Athletics.
The Rangers have a pretty bad offense so far this season, 25th in baseball by wRC+. They don’t strike out much worse than league average, but the walk less than just about any other squad. Warren doesn’t need to be perfect to be good, and a third straight solid start is definitely possible to open the series.
Meanwhile, Corbin is finally vindicating me after seven years of believing he was a fit for the Yankees. One of the worst free agent signings in recent memory, Corbin flamed out for the Nationals, but has looked good in the first quarter of the season with Texas. A 3.35 ERA will get the job done, even if there may be some regression coming on the horizon. He has the third-highest walk rate of his career, as well as an elevated home run rate. If Corbin keeps pitching like this, something bad is going to happen, and it might just happen against a powerful Yankee lineup.
Wednesday — Ryan Yarbrough vs. Jacob deGrom (7:05pm EST)
Yarbrough might end up one of the unsung heroes of the 2025 season, stepping in to the rotation as the definition of a swingman, and has allowed just three runs over the last 13.2 innings pitched since Marcus Stroman went down. He’s worked into the fifth the last two outings, providing critical depth and already setting expectations for this start with the Rangers.
deGrom meanwhile… he’s not the MVP form pitcher that he was a few years ago, but he looks awful good so far. Most recently, he fired eight shutout innings against the Astros to outduel up-and-comer Hunter Brown in a 1-0 gem. He finally seems to have listened to what a lot of folks were begging him to do, “merely” throwing 97 instead of 102 and taking something just off that legendary slider. Yarbrough isn’t the guy you’d think of in an ace-off, but Jake’s going to be appointment viewing regardless of opponent.
Thursday — Carlos Rodón vs. Nate Eovaldi (12:35pm EST)
Nasty Nate can still find work in the majors — indeed, he may be having his best season yet. With a 2.1 fWAR already on the season, second-highest in the AL, Eovaldi’s been the rock of the Rangers staff and as Yankee fans know, a thorn in the side of the Bombers for almost a decade. Eovaldi won’t give anything away, with super low walk and home run rates. It’s funny that in a series that features literally Jacob deGrom, the toughest assignment might end up being Eovaldi.
Meanwhile, Rodón is looking more and more like the guy the Yankees signed from the Giants, with xERAs and xFIPs in line with what he did in orange and cream. The big trick for him is keeping the ball in the park — expected stats rely on a normalized home run rate, but Carlos hasn’t had a normal home run rate since coming to the Bronx.
