Ryan Yarbrough tosses another gem after allowing early homer as Yankees top Angels

Ryan Yarbrough’s night began in inauspicious fashion.

His sixth pitch was a changeup to Zach Neto that ended up 440 feet from home plate for a leadoff home run.

But instead of foreshadowing, it was merely a blip on the way to another strong start from the crafty left-hander.

Yarbrough retired 18 of the next 20 batters he faced, continuing to deliver everything the Yankees could have hoped for on the way to a 5-1 win over the Angels on Monday night in front of a sellout crowd of 43,626 at Angel Stadium that often made it sound like The Bronx.

Ryan Yarbrough throws a pitch during the Yankees’ win against the Angels on May 26.

Anthony Volpe provided the big hit that made sure Yarbrough’s terrific effort did not go to waste, crushing a three-run double to center field in the fourth inning to break a 1-1 tie and send the Yankees (33-20) to their third straight win and ninth in their past 11 games.

Yarbrough, meanwhile, took care of the rest while giving up just two hits, one walk and one run across six sharp innings while striking out seven.

In four outings since moving into a full-time starting role earlier this month, he owns a 2.25 ERA.

He has helped solidify the back of the rotation as the Yankees await the return of Luis Gil (potentially in July).

Chris Taylor reacts after striking out during the Angels’ loss to the Yankees on May 26.

“He’s been so key for us,” manager Aaron Boone said before the game. “He’s confident in his ability, he knows he does it a different kind of way. He’s pliable, so whatever role you throw on him in a given week, he’s ready for it and experienced it before. So right now, serving that role in the rotation, he’s done a really good job for us.”

Yarbrough’s first start came when Clarke Schmidt was scratched due to side soreness on May 3.

A few days later, the Yankees designated Carlos Carrasco for assignment, clearing the way for Yarbrough to enter the rotation full-time, and it has gone just about as well as the Yankees could have hoped.

With Yabrough’s latest gem, Yankees starters have posted a 2.70 ERA over their past 38 games, allowing two earned runs or fewer in 29 of them.

The soft-tossing Yarbrough just gets the job done a little differently than the rest of the group.

“He’s 6-[foot]-5 and kind of elbows and knees and some deception in delivery,” Boone said. “Really changes speeds really well, has a number of different pitches, uses both sides of the plate up and down. I really enjoy watching him pitch and watching him go about it and what, here in 2025, is a different way of doing it.”

Yankees bats were silent through three innings Monday against Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowicz, who retired the first nine batters he faced.

Anthony Volpe hits a double during the Yankees’ win against the Angels on May 26.

And then, quite literally, they got incredibly loud in the fourth inning.

Ben Rice smoked a 104.3 mph single through the left side.

Trent Grisham laced a 107.4 mph single up the middle.

Aaron Judge drilled a 103.6 mph single to third base.

Pop, pop, pop, and the Yankees were suddenly in business with the bases loaded for Cody Bellinger, who walked on four pitches to tie the game at one.

One out later, Volpe joined the party with a bullet double that came off the bat at 104.8 mph and cleared the bases for the 4-1 lead.

Over his past 27 games, Volpe has hit .284 (29-for-102) with an .838 OPS, with nine of his past 16 hits going for extra bases.

Zach Neto reacts after homering during the Yankees’ win against the Angels on May 26.

Austin Wells added some insurance in the eighth inning when he lifted a sacrifice fly to score Judge, who went 1-for-2 with two walks and finished the day batting .398.

Yerry De Los Santos (1 ¹/₃ innings), Mark Leiter Jr. and Luke Weaver combined to toss the final three innings to keep the Angels at bay and finish what Yarbrough started.