The Yankees dropped their third straight game on Friday after the Braves jumped on Carlos Rodón.
Atlanta wasted no time in its 8-1 win, as Ozzie Albies followed Jarred Kelenic’s leadoff single with a two-run homer off of the southpaw. Austin Riley also went deep in the first inning, giving the Braves a 3-0 lead before the Yankees could bat.
After the first, Rodón appeared angry while talking to assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel in the dugout. However, Rodón said he was just frustrated with himself, and Aaron Boone said he had “no issue with his intensity.”
“I was just pissed off at the situation,” Rodón said. “Emotions got going. I don’t want to come out of that first three runs down. Just a little fiery there.”
Carlos Rodón showing some frustration during a conversation with a coach pic.twitter.com/6MCB8f4V95
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 21, 2024
That fire didn’t help the pitcher, as a Kelenic single handed the Braves another run in the second. Ramón Laureano followed up with an RBI double in the third.
Matt Olson added a two-run homer in the fourth frame before Sean Murphy doubled. The Braves scored an additional run on the play while Murphy advanced to third, as Jahmai Jones misplayed the ball in left field.
That ended Rodón’s evening. He totaled 3.2 innings, 11 hits, eight runs (7 earned), two walks, nine hard-hit balls and 93 pitches.
“I tip my cap to them,” Rodón said. “Obviously, not the way I wanted it to go. But you just gotta turn the page on that one. That was rough.”
Atlanta’s first five hits, including the Albies and Riley home runs, came against Rodón’s fastball. He threw the pitch 30 times, including eight times in the first inning.
Other offerings didn’t yield better results. Olson hammered one of Rodón’s 28 sliders. He also threw 20 changeups, 12 curveballs and three cutters.
However, the Braves feasted on his No. 1 pitch. It’s safe to say they expected it, as Rodón was throwing his four-seamer 53.4% of the time overall and 60.1% of the time for first pitches prior to Thursday, according to Baseball Savant.
“They were definitely attacking it,” Rodón said. “I wish I – I should have – made an adjustment quicker to try to get to the slow stuff.”
The night marked Rodón’s second poor start in a row, as the Red Sox also ripped a few of his early heaters on June 15. Rodón gave up five earned runs in the first two innings of that game before settling in.
“It’s just little small adjustments that I think he actually made within this outing and he made within the last outing,” Boone said of Rodón’s fastball command. “Things he and we’re aware of.”
Rodón entered that Boston start with a 2.93 ERA, but he left Friday’s outing with a mark of 3.86. He also exited to boos, which became a familiar sound during his disastrous debut season with the Yankees.
“It’s just part of it,” he said. “I didn’t perform to the best of my ability. It’s just how it goes here.”
Rodón was relieved by Yoendrys Gómez, who was called up earlier in the day. A starter in the minors, the righty didn’t allow another run over 4.2 innings. He also tallied three hits, three walks and five strikeouts while sparing the Yankees’ exhausted, restructured bullpen.
“Obviously, the last few days have been pretty rough having to lean on the pen and not having a lot of guys available tonight,” Boone said. “So to have YoGo come in there and throw the ball the way he did was big.
“That was one of those little things that happens in a game where you’re out of it that can maybe help you win a game tomorrow.”
While Rodón pitched more like his 2023 self against Atlanta, Chris Sale continued to look like the “vintage” version of himself. That was how Boone described the contorting lefty before he held the Yankees to one earned run over five innings.
Sale also struck out eight and walked three while lowering his ERA to 2.91.
“You ever watch his career? I mean, he’s a great pitcher,” Juan Soto, who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, said when asked what made Sale so tough. “Tonight, he just made great pitches. He’s an unbelievable pitcher. He knows how good his stuff is. He just makes it work. Put the pitches where he wants to and keeps guys off balance.”
The Bombers’ lone run off of Sale followed a Jones flyball, which dropped well in front of the warning track after Adam Duvall misjudged it in the second inning. With the wind blowing in, Jones, batting fifth for a rare start, was credited with a triple. He scored on a DJ LeMahieu groundout.
Yankees hitters will try for a better showing on Saturday when Charlie Morton starts for the Braves. The veteran right-hander has pitched well against the Yanks in the past and has a 3.91 ERA in his 17th season.
Marcus Stroman, also looking to rebound from a bad start in Boston, will start for the Yankees.