Yankees downplay early losses to Dodgers in World Series rematch: ‘Every game is the same’

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LOS ANGELES — Aaron Judge ambled down the dugout steps, collected his hat and his bat and disappeared into the clubhouse. The New York Yankees had just gotten drubbed 18-2 by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Judge had supplied all of his team’s runs via solo homers. He had done his job.

Everyone else? Well, infielder Pablo Reyes pitched the final inning for the Yankees. What does that tell you?

Still, the Yankees maintained that losing both games to start the 2024 World Series rematch at Dodger Stadium wasn’t a big deal.

“I think honestly every game is the same,” outfielder Cody Bellinger said. “You want to come out and you want to win. Losing the first two games of any series is tough. What we can do now is just kind of try to get a win tomorrow.

“We want to win every game, win every series,” first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said. “We didn’t do that. I think the focus has to be on coming out and playing well tomorrow. Regardless of what’s going to happen with this series, we know there’s a lot of season left, and I think the focus is playing hard every day and getting as many wins as we can.”

The loss Saturday ensured the Yankees would lose their first series after winning their previous seven in a row. They fell to 35-22 and have a 5 1/2-game lead in the American League East. The Dodgers jumped to 36-22 with a 3-game lead in the National League West.

All rise for the second time today! 👨‍⚖️ pic.twitter.com/ZBVyHyGqt8

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 1, 2025

The Yankees’ clubhouse postgame was quiet, as it usually is after a loss. Players milled about, going from the kitchen to the shower to their lockers. Conversations were mostly muted. Three buses were scheduled to take them back to their hotel, where they would rest and recharge for the final game of the series Sunday afternoon.

The atmosphere at Dodger Stadium, however, has felt like anything but a typical regular-season game. There were 51,746 fans at Friday’s game. They seemed to get louder with each run the Dodgers scored.

Sunday won’t be any easier for the Yankees. The Dodgers will start Yoshinobu Yamamoto, whose 1.97 ERA is second-best in the NL. In 11 starts, he has a 6-3 record. The Yankees, meanwhile, will start lefty Ryan Yarbrough, who has been excellent since moving into the rotation (2.25 ERA, four starts).

Manager Aaron Boone kept it positive.

“They’re tough,” he said, “and they’re swinging good against us these last two nights. We have another opportunity to go out there and try to hold them down a little bit and get after them tomorrow.”

Aaron Boone recaps Saturday’s contest against the Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/LrYQu6gua6

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 1, 2025

Will Warren crumbles

Warren was the biggest culprit for the Yankees. The rookie right-hander broke a string of solid outings by falling apart, giving up seven earned runs over 1 1/3 innings. He faced 14 batters, giving up six hits and four walks with two strikeouts.

The 25-year-old didn’t plan to forget about his bad night.

“I’m just going to let it soak in,” he said. “It hurts. It sucks. (I) let the team down.”

Warren had looked like he was turning a corner. He was 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in his previous five starts, averaging 8.2 strikeouts per game. The Athletic’s Keith Law had ranked him as the Yankees’ No. 12 prospect going into the season.

He said he left too many pitches over the plate. His night ended when Max Muncy crushed a three-run shot off him with one out in the second inning. The Yankees were down, 4-0, after Warren’s 39-pitch first inning.

“Just a little off with his command and then the heart of the plate with some pitches,” Boone said.

It came after ace Max Fried coughed up his first dud of the season, giving up six runs in five innings in an 8-5 loss Friday night.

How did Warren feel? Angry? Upset?

“All of the above,” he said. “Just let it sit there and learn to hate that feeling.”

Making moves?

Boone didn’t rule out the Yankees swapping out a reliever for a fresh arm before Sunday’s game. The logistics wouldn’t be easy, considering Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre played at home in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

“We’ll talk about that here postgame,” Boone said.

Righty Yerry De los Santos and lefty Brent Headrick each pitched Friday and Saturday. Neither would be available Sunday. The Yankees might want to demote one of them and call up someone who could give them multiple innings of relief. They have space to add to their 40-man roster, which sits at 38.

With Warren’s early exit, the Yankees had to turn to top relievers Luke Weaver, Devin Williams and Mark Leiter Jr. to make up some of the innings. Boone said he didn’t want to use Jonathan Loáisiga, hoping to keep him fresh for Sunday.

“You obviously don’t like doing that in a game like this,” Boone said.

“That’s what the 162 (games) brings you sometimes. It doesn’t always line up perfectly, and you’ve got to navigate some tough moments and tough games sometimes.”

(Photo of Aaron Judge: Harry How / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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