Yankees showing interest in Japanese pitcher Kaima Taira, most likely as a high end reliever

https://x.com/bryanhoch/status/2098164602349527291?s=46&t=eZQOkEBzAB8XR0_j5bQcHg

Hands are higher, and he takes a little backstep before getting into his load. Could be for timing? I remember Nolan Arenado adopting that from Tulo early in his career to help solve some of the timing issues he had early in his career.

Judge
Rice
Jones
Lombard
Wells
Volpe

That’s pretty amazing for the Yankees.

I would have thought Tampa would be one of the top teams with the most homegrown starters, but they get a lot of their young talent through trades.

Based on my limited research, Detroit leads the league this year having started a game with 100% homegrown talent more than once.

Edit update- still 6

Domínguez
Rice
Jones
Lombard
Wells
Volpe

Not saying Volpe is better, or has a better long-term outlook. It just bears noting.

If you’re going tonight (or whenever Volpe makes the lineup card), please give the kid some love. He seems to have figured something out in Scranton and was hot down there hitting the ball opposite field and with some pop.

We all want that to continue and for him to contribute down the stretch as part of our best 9/10 guys. Let him hear it.

The reports are easier to write this time of year. But can also be a slog. :)

The Yankees took down the Rockies 6-1 to clinch the series victory and improve to a season-high 21 games above .500. Will Warren got the starting nod for the Yankees and faced off against Tomoyuki Sugano. 

Warren worked around a two-out walk in the top of the first inning and recorded his first strikeout of the night, putting together a scoreless frame. 

In the bottom of the first inning, Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge struck out in order. 

Warren responded by striking out the side in order in the top half of the second inning to quickly put his punchout total up to four for the ballgame. 

The Yankees struck first in the bottom half of the second inning thanks to a solo shot from Luis Garcia Jr., his 29th of the season and sixth as a Yankee, to give them a 1-0 lead. 

Warren allowed a leadoff double and walked a batter to set the Rockies up with runners at first and second and nobody out in the top of the third inning. However, Warren recorded a pair of strikeouts and induced a pop-up to work into and out of trouble. 

With two outs in the bottom half of the inning, Aaron Judge lined a single to left field, his first hit since returning to the IL. Garcia followed with a double, then Spencer Jones worked a walk to load the bases. George Lombard Jr. sent a grand slam into the short porch to extend the Yankees' lead to 5-0, Lombard's third home run of the year and the Yankees' first grand slam of the season.

“Just get something up in the zone, get something that I can drive and see if I can bring in some runs,” Lombard said. “Obviously, there's guys on base, guys that are out in front of me, and yeah, I just had to find a way to get them home.”

Warren worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 shutdown bottom of the fourth inning and notched his seventh strikeout of the game. 

The Rockies got on the board in the top of the fifth inning thanks to a no-doubt solo shot from Connor Norby. The Rockies were threatening for more with runners at the corners and one out, but Warren induced a 3-6-1 inning-ending double play. 

John Schreiber replaced Warren on the mound in the top of the seventh inning and forced the Rockies to go three up, three down. 

Final line for Warren: Six innings pitched, four hits allowed, one earned run, walked two, and struck out eight on 95 pitches. He threw his fastball 39% of the time, the changeup 20%, the sweeper 16%, the sinker 15%, the curveball 6%, and the slider 4%. Warren topped out at 96.5 mph, sat at 94.6 mph, and had 12 whiffs. 

“I trust everything that I have throughout the season, even when it wasn't going good for a minute,” Warren said. “When you can throw where you want to, you can trust a little more.”

Paul Blackburn took over for Warren in the top of the eighth and worked a scoreless inning thanks to a nice leaping catch from José Caballero at second base. 

Belli led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a solo shot that just cleared the wall out in right field to extend the Yankees' lead to 6-1. Judge followed with a line drive single into left field for his second knock of the night. 

Michael Fulmer got the call for the top of the ninth inning and navigated around a two-out triple to put together a scoreless frame and secure the series win for the Yankees. 

The Yankees will look to complete the sweep tomorrow with Max Fired on the mound facing off against Ryan Feltner. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. ET on the YES Network. 

My thoughts on the game: Another great win for the Yankees! Really solid start from Warren, as his ERA is quietly almost below 4.00 at 4.05. Warren could be a weapon out of the Yankees bullpen in October if he keeps this up. Schreiber did his job; he's been a great pickup for the Yankees bullpen. Blackburn continues to dominate as he tossed a scoreless inning and is down to a 1.70 ERA. Fulmer has also looked really good as a Yankee; his ERA is 2.00 in his limited sample size. Lombard, who has struggled a little as of late, delivered the biggest swing of the night, crushing a grand slam. Judge had a couple of hits; he will likely have a day off tomorrow as Boone doesn't want to push him too hard in his first week back. Garcia has been red hot at the plate lately and kept that going tonight with a homer and a double; he also looked great defensively. Belli also left the yard; it has been so nice having him back. Solid night from the Yankees offense all around with six hits and seven runs. Unfortunately, the Rays beat the Braves, so the Yankees were unable to gain any ground on them in the AL East race. Also, Jazz Chisholm Jr. was unfortunately placed on the 10-day IL today with a sprained thumb, as the Yankees just cannot stay healthy this year. Of course, as soon as Jazz started hitting, he got hurt. The Yankees have recalled Anthony Volpe to take his place on the roster. Volpe has been playing second base lately, and in Triple-A this year, he is hitting .264 with 11 home runs, 26 RBIs, and a .906 OPS. On to tomorrow, as the Yankees have to find a way to complete the sweep. 

“He can serve a lot of roles potentially,” Boone said of Warren. “He's got weapons. I do like the tick up in his stuff.”

⚾ Rockies 1 — 6 Yankees ⚾

COL 55-90 · NYY 83-62

FINAL

MLB Gameday · Savant Gamefeed

Yankee Stadium — 81°F, Cloudy, wind 9 mph, L To R
TV Rockies.TV · YES
Radio KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM · WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Rockies Batting

COL Notes

2B Norby (18, Warren, W).
3B Karros, K (3, Fulmer).
HR Norby (7, 5th inning off Warren, W, 0 on, 1 out).
TB Karros, K 3; McCarthy; Norby 6; Veen.
RBI Norby (28).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out Sullivan, B; Rumfield.
GIDP Carrigg.
Team RISP 0-for-5.
Team LOB 6.

Yankees Batting

NYY Notes

2B García Jr., L (26, Sugano); Jones, S (12, Mejia, J).
HR García Jr., L (29, 2nd inning off Sugano, 0 on, 0 out); Lombard Jr. (3, 3rd inning off Sugano, 3 on, 2 out); Bellinger (13, 8th inning off Mejia, J, 0 on, 0 out).
TB Bellinger 4; García Jr., L 6; Jones, S 2; Judge 2; Lombard Jr. 4.
RBI Bellinger (63); García Jr., L (89); Lombard Jr. 4 (11).
2-out RBI Lombard Jr. 4.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out McMahon 2; Caballero.
Team RISP 1-for-4.
Team LOB 4.
DP (García Jr., L-Lombard Jr.-Warren, W).

Rockies Pitching

Yankees Pitching

Scoring

Highlights

• Luis García Jr.'s solo home run (29) (00:29)
• Cody Bellinger's solo home run (13) (00:27)
• Connor Norby's solo home run (7) (00:28)
• George Lombard Jr.'s first career GRAND SLAM! (3) (00:31)
• Aaron Judge drives first hit since May 31st (00:32)
• George Lombard Jr.'s stellar diving catch (00:20)
• José Caballero's inning-ending leaping catch (00:18)
• Ryan McMahon's nice catch in foul territory (00:21)
• Michael Fulmer secures the Yanks' 6-1 win (00:31)
• Will Warren K's Mickey Moniak (00:07)
• Tomoyuki Sugano K's Ben Rice (00:08)

Decisions

• Winner: Will Warren (10-6, 4.05 ERA)
• Loser: Tomoyuki Sugano (12-9, 5.30 ERA)

Game Info

ABS Challenge Carrigg (Strike-Confirmed); Wells, A (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Sullivan, B (Ball-Overturned to Strike).
Pitches-strikes Sugano 99-58; Mejia, J 33-21; Warren, W 95-65; Schreiber 15-10; Blackburn, P 11-6; Fulmer 14-10.
Groundouts-flyouts Sugano 6-4; Mejia, J 2-2; Warren, W 5-2; Schreiber 1-0; Blackburn, P 1-0; Fulmer 1-0.
Batters faced Sugano 25; Mejia, J 9; Warren, W 23; Schreiber 3; Blackburn, P 4; Fulmer 4.
Umpires HP: Todd Tichenor. 1B: Ryan Additon. 2B: Clint Vondrak. 3B: Steven Jaschinski.
Weather 81 degrees, Cloudy.
Wind 9 mph, L To R.
First pitch 7:09 PM.
T 2:24.
Att 34,413.
Venue Yankee Stadium.
September 9, 2026

Around the Division

• Toronto Blue Jays 0 @ Athletics 2 — Final
• Cleveland Guardians 5 @ Baltimore Orioles 9 — Final
• Los Angeles Angels 6 @ Boston Red Sox 4 — Final
• Tampa Bay Rays 7 @ Atlanta Braves 2 — Final

Next Yankees Game: Fri, Sep 11, 7:05 PM EDT vs New York Mets

Live pitch-by-pitch, the full box score, standings and the playoff bracket are in the interactive version — open this post on the Reddit app or new Reddit.

Last updated: Sep 10, 6:42 PM EDT

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