Carlos Rodon Starts Off Rickety, then MOTORS Like a Ford GT. NY 5 Minny 1

May 15, 2024 paperbacklou 2024 0

Carlos Rodon got off to a rickety start, allowing a homer to the first batter of the game, and struggling through the 1st inning — but then got motoring like a Ford GT, pitching shutout ball into the 7th inning.

Meanwhile the Yankee offense gave him 5 runs — including an RBI double by Anthony Volpe, a 427-foot homer by Giancarlo Stanton, and a 2-RBI double by Alex Verdugo — and the Yankee bullpen of Ian Hamilton and Clay Holmes shut the door in NY’s 5-1 win on a Tuesday night in Minnesota.

“I think he just kind of settled in,” said manager Aaron Boone afterwards about Rodon. “I thought he kind of got it going even in that 1st inning — obviously Jeffries jumped him for the homer and Correa smoked a ball there to left — but I thought he had his shapes right after that.”

“It looked like his breaking ball was really good right away,” continued Boone. “Then mixed a little bit — threw some really good changeups for some big outs that gave them a little bit of a different look; caught them off guard a little bit. Overall I thought he mixed well; no free passes, and some really good defense behind him.”

NY improves to 28-15 and vaults into 1st place, a half game ahead of Baltimore, which lost. Minnesota drops to 24-17.

1. Rodon Rickety in 1st, then MOTORS

Yankee fans are not quite trusting Carlos Rodon yet — after the poor season last year, and getting ripped in a big early-season game against Baltimore 2 weeks ago. He got off to a rickety start in this one — a homer by Ryan Jeffers to lead off the game for Minnesota and then a single to next batter Carlos Correa and here we go again.

Rodon then allowed a 2-out single to put runners on 1st and 2nd before striking out Carlos Santana to end the inning.

Rodon allowed a 2-out double in the 2nd, and worked around a 1-out single in the 3rd, and by the 4th was motoring. He retired 11 in a row — pitching a a 1-2-3 inning in the 4th, 5th, and 6th — before allowing a single by Santana to lead off the 7th, with NY leading 5-1 by that point.

Rodon’s line: 6 IP, 6 hits, 6 K’s, 0 walks — he wins to go 4-2 3.31.

2. Oswaldo Sac Fly Ties It; Volpe Double Puts NY Ahead

NY tied the game immediately in the top of the 2nd — loading the bases with nobody out against Chris Paddack on singles by Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, and Austin Wells.

Oswaldo Cabrera hit a sac fly to tie the game, and then Anthony Volpe doubled in Torres to make it 2-1.

The Yanks didn’t get more, as Juan Soto struck out with 2nd and 3rd, and Aaron Judge lined out to left.

3. Giancarlo BLAST Makes it 3-1 NY

Giancarlo Stanton made it 3-1 NY with a 427-foot Missile to left center in the 3rd.

4. Verdugo Double Makes it 5-1 NY

Juan Soto worked a 2-out walk in the 4th, and Aaron Judge beat out an infield single bringing up Alex Verdugo who hit a clutch 2-out double to make it 5-1 NY.

5. Hamilton 2 Terrific Innings

More Great news: Ian Hamilton relieved Rodon with a runner on and nobody out in the 7th, and allowed the first batter he faced to single — but then retired the next 6 batters in a row — striking out 2 to end the 7th, and pitching a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th.

“It was good to see Ian throw the ball like that,” said Boone. “That’s the Ian we know. Good life to the sinker and the 4 seam. Jumping out ahead like he’s been doing a lot, but able to put guys away with either the strikeout ball or some weak contact. I thought that was as good as Ian has thrown in probably a few times out — so that was really encouraging to see.”

6. Holmes the Finish

Clay Holmes pitched an agita-less 9th — ground out, fly out, fly out — for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401569105

 

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