1 week Ago
NEW YORK — Carlos Rodón put his hands on his knees and seemed to be silently begging for the ball to stop in midair. When it soared over the wall, the New York Yankees lefty screamed and nearly pounded the grass. In an instant, a pall had been cast over the Yankees, who had been enjoying their first sunny afternoon after a week of frigid climes in Pittsburgh, Detroit and the Bronx.
Advertisement Jung Hoo Lee’s three-run, sixth-inning shot off Rodón evaporated a two-run Yankees lead and was the lowlight in New York’s 5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday at Yankee Stadium. The defeat meant the Yankees had lost five of their last seven games after starting the season 6-2. It also meant they would go to sleep Monday a half-game behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East.
They will have to shake off some ugly baseball with the Kansas City Royals and superstar Bobby Witt coming to town to start a three-game series Monday. Here are three Yankees takeaways: Carlos Rodón not stepping up Rodón’s final line Sunday: four earned runs in 5 2/3 innings on three hits — including two homers to Lee — three walks and eight strikeouts. Through four starts, Rodón has gone 1-3 with a 5.
48 ERA. The Yankees needed Rodón to step up with ace Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery) out for the year. So far, only Max Fried (2-0, 1.
56 ERA, 3 starts) has been reliable for the Yankees, whose 4.67 team ERA was the fifth-worst in the majors after Sunday’s loss. Its starters were responsible for a 5.
40 ERA, the worst in baseball. Sunday, Rodón started strong. He retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced.
His first mistake came when he let Lee clip him for a solo shot in a full count with one out in the fourth inning. Rodón hung a slider thigh-high over the plate and Lee dropped it into the right-field seats. After a 1-2-3 fifth inning, Rodón ran into more trouble.
Christian Koss reached on a weakly hit infield single, and with two outs, he walked Willy Adames. Then, in a 1-2 count to Lee, catcher J.C.
Escarra signaled for a curveball low and out of the zone. Lee hadn’t seen the pitch from Rodón yet Sunday. He saw it well when Rodón missed his location terribly, leaving it chest level and over the plate for Lee to send into the right-field stands to give the Giants a 4-3 lead.
Advertisement “Just terrible execution on that curveball,” Rodón said. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he thought Rodón was “excellent” otherwise. “A critical mistake with runners on,” Boone said.
“It’s really one pitch that hurt his outing with two strikes, a hanging curveball.” Boone also said he thought Rodón was throwing the ball “incredibly well” so far this season though his command has been “a tick off.” His 12 total walks were the second most in the majors behind Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki.
Last season, Cole dealt with elbow problems and didn’t make his first start until June 19. Over that span, Rodón stepped up with a 3.28 ERA in 15 starts.
He said he hasn’t been thinking about trying to fill in for Cole this season. “I wouldn’t say that’s really crossed my mind much,” he said. “Just focused on giving my best effort out there and trying to win ballgames.
Just frustrated with two-strike pitches that end up in (the) zone because these are big-league hitters. They’re some of the best hitters in the world, and they’re punishing them.” Jazz Chisholm Jr.
is freezing Jazz Chisholm Jr. snapped an 0-for-24 stretch with an eighth-inning solo shot and went 1-for-4 Sunday. He said the cold weather the Yankees had been dealing with for the past week had been “brutal” for him.
“I’m used to the warm weather,” said Chisholm, who is from the Bahamas. “That’s probably the coldest I’ve ever played in this week.” Chisholm was hitting .
169 with five home runs, 10 RBIs and a whopping 24 strikeouts through his first 59 at-bats after Sunday’s loss. He said he’s tried everything to keep warm. “A lot of Vaseline,” he said.
“Shout out Vaseline. Send me some. A lot of hot stuff from out of the training room.
Go into the hot tub before the beginning of the game. Layers of creams. It’s just a lot.
It’s a lot to go out there and play in the cold.” Advertisement But Chisholm said he wasn’t making excuses. “In my contract,” he said, “it doesn’t say I don’t play in less than 40 degrees.
So I’ve got to go out there and play and do my best every day.” Jazz Chisholm Jr. with @M_Marakovits & the media following Sunday's game.
#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/AzZZvnywLM — YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 13, 2025 Injury updates Boone didn’t know when starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (left knee swelling) or designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (tennis elbows) could return.
The manager said Stanton had been “starting to move around more outside and ramping up,” but the slugger hadn’t done much more than take at-bats against a high-velocity pitching machine near the Yankees’ clubhouse. Stanton missed all of spring training, but Ben Rice has hit well (4 home runs, 1.049 OPS, 47 at-bats) in his absence.
Stroman, who went on the injured list Saturday, had a cortisone shot in his knee, though an MRI didn’t show any damage. Boone said that he wasn’t sure whether Stroman’s knee had been a reason he has struggled so much this season (11.57 ERA, 3 starts) so far, but he added that while watching video of his previous outings, Stroman might not have been “finishing properly on his front leg.
I think that was due to the knee (injury).” Boone added the team hopes to get Stroman “ramped up pretty (quickly).” Clarke Schmidt was slated to take Stroman’s spot in the rotation Wednesday.
(Photo of Carlos Rodón: Wendell Cruz / Imagn Images).
