diff --git a/lib/command.js b/lib/command.js
index 871a314bc6..190ce16530 100644
--- a/lib/command.js
+++ b/lib/command.js
@@ -9,27 +9,21 @@ const joinCommand = (file, args = []) => {
 	return [file, ...args].join(' ');
 };
 
-// Allow spaces to be escaped by a backslash if not meant as a delimiter
-const handleEscaping = (tokens, token, index) => {
-	if (index === 0) {
-		return [token];
-	}
-
-	const previousToken = tokens[tokens.length - 1];
-
-	if (previousToken.endsWith('\\')) {
-		return [...tokens.slice(0, -1), `${previousToken.slice(0, -1)} ${token}`];
-	}
-
-	return [...tokens, token];
-};
-
 // Handle `execa.command()`
 const parseCommand = command => {
-	return command
-		.trim()
-		.split(SPACES_REGEXP)
-		.reduce(handleEscaping, []);
+	const tokens = [];
+	for (const token of command.trim().split(SPACES_REGEXP)) {
+		// Allow spaces to be escaped by a backslash if not meant as a delimiter
+		const previousToken = tokens[tokens.length - 1];
+		if (previousToken && previousToken.endsWith('\\')) {
+			// Merge previous token with current one
+			tokens[tokens.length - 1] = `${previousToken.slice(0, -1)} ${token}`;
+		} else {
+			tokens.push(token);
+		}
+	}
+
+	return tokens;
 };
 
 module.exports = {