Yankees pound Walker Buehler, hit three home runs in series-opening win vs. Red Sox

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Jun 6, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — The last time Walker Buehler pitched in the Bronx, he ended the Yankees’ championship dreams.

Then a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the right-handed Buehler recorded the final three outs of the 2024 World Series. Between his Game 3 start and that Game 5 save, Buehler hurled six shutout innings — all in the Bronx — in the Fall Classic.

But Buehler’s return to Yankee Stadium on Friday night went much differently.

The Yankees battered Buehler, now a starter for the Boston Red Sox, in their series-opening 9-6 win.

They scored seven runs (five earned) on seven hits and two walks against Buehler, who lasted only two innings.

Five of those runs came in the first inning, when Jazz Chisholm Jr. drilled a three-run home run and Anthony Volpe followed with a two-run shot, all with two outs.

Chisholm added a two-out RBI single in the second. Two batters later, Buehler plunked Volpe in the left elbow with an 88.8-mph change-up with the bases loaded, giving the Yankees a 7-0 lead.

The hit-by-pitch left Volpe in visible pain, and while he initially remained in the game, he exited at the start of the fourth inning as Oswald Peraza took over at shortstop. The Yankees called Volpe’s injury an elbow contusion and said he was receiving X-rays and a CT scan.

Friday marked the Yankees’ first-ever regular-season game against Buehler, who signed a one-year, $21 million contract with Boston during the winter.

The Yankees (39-23) continued scoring after Buehler’s early exit, with Aaron Judge delivering a fifth-inning RBI single and Paul Goldschmidt adding a sixth-inning solo home run.

Judge went 3 for 5 and raised his average by five points to .397.

Chisholm finished 3 for 5 with four RBIs. He is now 8 for 16 with two homers and six RBIs in four games since coming off the injured list with an oblique strain.

The Yankees totaled 14 hits, including three home runs, in front of a crowd of 46,783.

That offensive outburst came in support of rookie starter Will Warren (4-3), who picked up the win after allowing four runs in 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts and four walks.

The outing represented something of a bounce back for Warren, who was pounded for seven runs in 1 1/3 innings in his previous start in Los Angeles.

“I think he turned the page, regardless of what happens,” manager Aaron Boone said of Warren going into Friday’s game. “He’s a confident kid and in a good spot.”

Warren held Boston scoreless through four innings, then surrendered a home run to 22-year-old Marcelo Mayer to lead off the fifth. It was the first career homer for Mayer, one of baseball’s premier prospects, in his 10th MLB game.

The Red Sox scored three more runs in the sixth, then cut the deficit to 9-6 when Rafael Devers crushed a two-run home run against Brent Headrick in the seventh.

But Fernando Cruz, Jonathan Loáisiga and Devin Williams held Boston scoreless over the final 2 2/3 innings to finish off the Yankees’ win.

This weekend’s three-game series is the Yankees’ first of the season against the rival Red Sox.

The Red Sox entered the season with high expectations after their offseason additions of Buehler, ace Garrett Crochet and third baseman Alex Bregman, who is on the injured list with a quad strain.

But Boston has been among baseball’s biggest disappointments, falling to 30-35 with Friday’s loss. The fourth-place Red Sox are now 10.5 games behind the division-leading Yankees in the American League East.

“I feel like it’s a talented group that’s still searching to find its footing a little bit,” Boone said of Boston before the series opener. “They’ve got a couple of key injuries, but a talented group and a dangerous team.”

The Yankees look to clinch a series victory on Saturday night, with Ryan Yarbrough (3-0, 2.83 ERA) set to start. It won’t come easily, however, as Boston sends the red-hot Crochet (5-4, 1.98 ERA) to the mound.