Carlos Rodon threw 7 innings of 5-hit, 1-run baseball, striking out 8 and walking 1 to out-duel Tanner Bibee and lead the Yanks to a 3-2 win on a Beautiful Monday night at Yankee Stadium.
DJ LeMahieu broke a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the 5th with a 2-out, RBI single, and then Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe broke a 1-1 tie with back-to-back Homers off Bibee in the bottom of the 7th to put NY up 3-1.
Mark Leiter Jr. pitched a shutout 8th, and Devin Williams came in for a bit of an agita save. He pitched well but allowed a 1-out double to Carlos Santana in a 9-pitch at bat, and a 2-out RBI single through the 1st base hole by Daniel Schneemann for a run, then stranded the tying run at 2nd base with a flyout to end it.
But the story was Rodon. It was his 8th great start in a row, moving him to 8-3 2.49. He has become one of the dominant pitchers of the 2025 season.
“I think he’s just really grown at the craft of pitching over the last few years,” said manager Aaron Boone about Rodon afterwards. “You’re seeing a real polished, experienced guy now who’s obviously really talented too.”
NY improves to 37-22, in 1st in the AL East by 6.5 games. Cleveland falls to 32-27.
1. Rodon Smokes ‘Em
Carlos Rodon came to NY as a high-priced free agent 2 years ago relying significantly on his fastball and slider mix. After a rocky 1st year, Rodon had an excellent season last year and this year has been absolutely dominant.
As Suzyn Waldman put it on the post-game, National League ballparks are bigger than parks in the AL East — especially San Francisco where Rodon had his home games, and then also “everyone else has iPads too” — meaning other teams are tracking exactly what you throw in what counts.
In the last 2 years, Rodon has honed his changeup and added an excellent curveball to his mix.
In this game he got into a little trouble in the top of the 1st — allowing back-to-back 1-out singles to Angel Martinez and Jose Ramirez. Ramirez then stole 2nd to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out.
But Rodon reared back and struck out David Fry and Carlos Santana to end the inning.
Carlos Rodón‘s 2Ks in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/TyMQziAGbP
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 3, 2025
Rodon struck out the next 2 batters in the 2nd and was on his way — retiring 17 in a row — throwing a 1-2-3 inning in the 2nd through 6th innings.
Carlos Rodón‘s 2Ks in the 2nd.
4Ks thru 2. pic.twitter.com/0Hgoy7UDIn
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 3, 2025
Cleveland finally got to him in the top of the 7th — Ramirez with a leadoff single, then stealing 2nd and scoring on a single by Fry.
Rodon then allowed a 1-out single to Gabriel Arias, who was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. He walked 2nd baseman Will Wilson but got catcher Bo Naylor to fly out to left to keep it a 1-1 game.
Rodon was rewarded when the Yanks scored 2 on the homers by Chisholm and Volpe in the bottom of the 7th to get the win.
2. Bibee Tough Too
Tanner Bibee was tough too — the 26-year-old, 6’2 righthander using his sinker, changeup, sweeper, 96-MPH fastball mix to shutout the Yankees into the 5th.
Tanner Bibee‘s 2Ks in the 6th. pic.twitter.com/srL9JlwNCh
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 4, 2025
3. LeMahieu Gets to Bibee in 5th
It was Jazz Chisholm Jr.‘s first game back after being out several weeks with a right oblique strain, and he helped the Yanks finally dent Bibee with a 1-out single in the bottom of the 5th.
J.C. Escarra then worked a 2-out walk, and DJ LeMahieu ripped a clutch 2-out RBI single to right for a 1-0 Yankee lead.
LeMachine ? pic.twitter.com/nXwBhDdL4w
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 4, 2025
4. Jazz & Volpe Go Back-to-Back in 7th
Jazz did it again in the top of the 7th — this time ripping a 358-foot homer to right center off Bibee for a 2-1 Yankee lead.
Jazz’s back, tell a friend ? pic.twitter.com/hf2a1XfYUJ
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 4, 2025
And next batter Anthony Volpe ripped a 372-foot homer to left for a 3-1 NY lead.
Back-to-Back Blasts ?@Volpe_Anthony ? pic.twitter.com/lC7e1Dtdgl
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 4, 2025
Bibee would take the loss to go 4-6 3.89.
5. Leiter a Shutout 8th
Mark Leiter Jr. pitched a shutout 8th as the setup man — fly out, walk, line out, ground out — protecting the 3-1 lead.
6. Devin with a Bit of an Agita Save
Devin Williams pitched well in the 9th — but Carlos Santana put a good at bat on him, ripping a 1-out double to left in a 9-pitch at bat. Devin struck out Gabriel Arias for the 2nd out, but pinch-hitter Daniel Schneemann found the hole with a single past 1st.
Schneemann then stole 2nd putting the tying run in scoring position.
But Devin got Bo Naylor to fly out to shallow left for the old ballgame.
“I liked his mix,” said Boone about Devin Williams. “I liked his pitch decisions. I thought Santana had a great at bat against him. I thought Devin really executed a lot within that at bat. (Santana) was able to spoil some heaters, just touch some of his good changeups down to extend the at bat, before he was able to put one in the gap. And Schneemann beats him in the hole. I thought he threw the ball pretty well but they took some good at bats against him.”
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