Did Will Warren's latest start begin road to recovery, or was it a Yankees mirage?

No team wins without solid pitching, and one New York Yankees youngster recently showed what the starting rotation must do to survive the season.

Will Warren tossed five innings and only surrendered two runs in the Yankees' 8-4 win over the San Francisco Giants this past weekend. While he was not exactly dominant, the 25-year-old threw competitive pitches and kept the lineup within striking distance.

Warren's most recent start was the sort of performance he will need to replicate going forward if he wants to be a Bronx staple. Further, New York's other starters must have similar outcomes.

Will Warren begins Yankees rotation road to recovery with excellent start vs. Giants

"I'm really excited for him. Just did a good job mixing his pitches, for the most part dictating counts," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Warren after Saturday's start. "I felt like he had a lot of ahead-in-the-count. I thought he had a lot of useful pitches throughout, even when he was ahead. And then a couple situations where he really had to make a pitch. He did it."

Warren stuck out a career-high six batters across his five innings of work and only allowed two hits and two walks. His only real mistake came in the top of the second inning when he was victimized by Wilmer Flores (who isn't these days?) for a two-run homer. Additionally, the righty did a nice job of getting hitters to chase. He induced 14 whiffs while peppering the strike zone.

It was a nice start for a young player whose immediate future is largely up in the air. With Clarke Schmidt's return now cemented, it is likely that Warren will be sent down to the minors if and when Marcus Stroman returns from his brief injury. Even still, the former 2021 draft pick could utilize what he was able to do through his first three starts of the season going forward.

While imperfect, Warren occasionally worked his way out of jams and also did not become overly reliant on his fastball. He's thrown his fastball and sweeper 29% of the time, and tossed his sinker, changeup, and curveball a decent amount as well.

From a broader perspective, New York could use these kinds of showings from the rest of their staff. Mixing pitches, limiting base runners, and not allowing an inning to get out of hand are all skills that could help Schmidt, Carlos Rodón, Stroman (if he returns), and others be more consistent as the summer heats up.

It is widely expected that the Yankees' bats will slug, but receiving solid pitching from Warren and members of the starting rotation may be the biggest key to this team's recovery. Tonight, we learn if he accomplished something tangible last Saturday as he takes on the Rays.