With a new week of play on the horizon, the Yankees once again hold a share of first place in the American League East. In a tie with the Rays for the top spot in the division, every game to this point has proven important, and things will likely stay that way. After a series against the Red Sox, which featured a win, a loss, and a rain out, the Yankees head back on the road to take on the Guardians in Cleveland.
This is the second time in the span of a week they will face each other, as the Yankees hosted the Guards for a three-game set in Yankee Stadium just last week. It was not a particularly good one for New York, as they grabbed just a 2-1 win in the final game to avoid a sweep. With a chance to make moves in the East, they’ll look to find better fortune this time around on the shores of Lake Erie.
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Monday: Will Warren vs. Gavin Williams (6:40 pm ET)
Kicking things off, Will Warren takes the hill for the Yankees on Monday. The right-hander will look to build upon what has been the best season of his career to this point. Across 12 starts and over 64 innings, Warren is managing a 3.22 ERA/3.27 FIP combination, and outside of a blow-up against the Rangers a month ago, every other outing has seen him pitch high-quality ball. In his last outing against the A’s, he struck out five across six innings, and though they scored three runs on his watch, none of them were earned.
Similarly, Cleveland’s Gavin Williams is enjoying a career-year as well. In the midst of new bests in strikeout and walk rates, Williams has a 3.20 ERA in over 80 innings of work this season. The righty has been a work horse for Cleveland, completing at least six innings in more than two-thirds of his starts. His last effort was in that series against the Yankees, when he gave up three runs and a pair of homers in 5.1 hard-earned innings.
Tuesday: Gerrit Cole vs. Slade Cecconi (6:40 pm ET)
Tuesday’s matchup will see Gerrit Cole making his fourth start of the season, after missing more than a year recovering from Tommy John. The Yankees will hope they see the version of his first two starts, when he struck out 12 in 12.2 combined scoreless innings to kick off the return. He most recently pitched against these same Guardians, who tagged him for three homers in his 5.1 innings on the mound.
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Slade Cecconi gets the start opposite of Cole, and he’ll look to match his most recent outing against New York. Overall, it has been an up-and-down season for the right-hander, as he’s posting an ERA close to five, but last week in Yankee Stadium, he tossed six relatively clean innings of one-run ball. Cecconi has allowed at least three earned runs in more than half of his starts, so the Judge-less Yankees offense will look to jump on him come Tuesday.
Wednesday: Carlos Rodón vs. Parker Messick (1:10 pm ET)
Carlos Rodón gets the last nod of the series, taking the mound Wednesday for the sixth time since his return. After his best season in pinstripes in 2025, the lefty has picked up right where he left off, and he’s allowed just one run in each of his last three starts (17 combined innings). The Yankees would like to see him cut down on the walks, as he’s issued multiple free passes in every start thus far, and three-plus in all but one. Either way, he looks to have his footing, and is a vital part of this talented rotation, and he’ll look to dial things in against Cleveland, his second start against them in a row.
For the final game of this series, the Yankees will take on Parker Messick. The 25-year-old lefty has already set a career-high with 75 innings, and he has been a revelation, posting a 2.40 ERA across 13 starts, while striking out more than a batter per inning. Messick has never started against the Yankees, but they will likely see plenty of him, as he’s completed at least five innings of work in each of his starts this season.
