Carlos Rodon’s too many early mistakes doom Yankees in Boston

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New York Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon faltered against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, yielding five runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out seven over five innings. His early missteps set the Yankees back in an eventual 8-4 loss at a sold-out Fenway Park.

The Red Sox capitalized quickly, scoring five runs in the first two innings. Their Red Sox’s disciplined approach at the plate, fouling off quality pitches and punishing mistakes, proved effective. As Carlos Rodon allowed five runs in the first two innings, it pushed the Yankees to a hole early from which they never got off.

Carlos Rodon acknowledged Boston’s strategy, noting their ability to foul off tough pitches and capitalize on his errors. He admitted they worked counts and made him pay for pitches left over at the heart of the plate.

“They had a good approach,” he said. “They fouled off some pitches. I put some good effort behind and put some good swings. They worked walks and they made me pay when I made mistakes, for sure.”

After Carlos Rodon’s five-inning outing, the Yankees’ comeback efforts were stymied further by losing two out of three replay reviews.

Taking responsibility for his performance, Carlos Rodon admitted to leaving too many pitches in the strike zone, leading to hard contact from the Red Sox. He expressed disappointment in his inability to execute pitches and put his team in a difficult position, making a comeback unlikely.

“I just left some balls over the middle part of the plate,” the Yankees pitcher said. “The balls off the wall, they hit some balls really hard off me. I just didn’t get to the area I wanted to, and putting the team down five runs is tough. It makes it hard for them to claw their way out of it, so that’s on me.”

Despite throwing a season-high 109 pitches, Carlos Rodon’s efforts were insufficient to prevent the Yankees from falling to their longtime rivals. The Boston Red Sox made the Yankees left-hander labor intensely during his start on Saturday, forcing him to throw 62 pitches in just two innings. By the time Carlos Rodon recorded six outs, the Red Sox had already put up five runs on seven hits, many of them hard-hit, along with two walks.

Carlos Rodon admitted to leaving too many pitches over the heart of the plate, which the Red Sox capitalized on. He expressed his frustration with his lack of execution, acknowledging that he put his team in a tough spot, making a comeback difficult.

Carlos Rodon admits mistake from the start

He got ahead 0-2 on Jarren Duran in the first at-bat but then left a slider over the middle that Duran lined for a double. Carlos Rodon noted he should have buried that slider, which took away the game in the very first inning, and highlighted similar mistakes throughout his outing.

“I was ahead and should have buried that slider,” he said. “Lot of instances like that tonight.”

The Red Sox continued their offensive onslaught, hitting two more RBI doubles off the Green Monster in the first inning before Rodon escaped the frame after 30 pitches.

The Yankees responded in the top of the second with a rally against Cooper Criswell. Giancarlo Stanton singled, Anthony Rizzo walked, and DJ LeMahieu‘s two-out bloop single to right field scored both runners, narrowing the deficit to 3-2.

However, the Red Sox continued their aggressive approach in the bottom of the second, quickly restoring their three-run lead.

Carlos Rodon settled down after the rocky start, retiring 10 of the final 11 batters he faced through five innings, keeping the Yankees (50-23) within reach. Despite his efforts, the Yankees’ comeback fell short, setting up a decisive rubber game on Sunday night.

Yankees left-hander struggled in what has otherwise been a stellar rebound season, giving up five runs over five innings in a 109-pitch effort against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. Despite this being Carlos Rodon’s highest pitch count since August 2022, he managed to save the bullpen from extensive work.

This outing marked Carlos Rodon’s second-worst performance of the season, having allowed two or fewer runs in 11 of his first 14 starts. Yankees manager Aaron Boone noted that while the pitcher’s stuff was sharp, the Red Sox had outstanding at-bats early on, making solid contact on both his slider and fastball.

Despite a rough start, Carlos Rodon returned for the fifth inning, having already thrown 98 pitches. He delivered a 1-2-3 inning on just 11 pitches. Reflecting on his outing, the Yankees pitcher expressed regret for not adjusting sooner and missing his spots, acknowledging his responsibility for the game’s outcome.

The loss ended Rodon’s seven-game winning streak, during which he had consistently delivered quality starts. The Red Sox tallied all five of their runs against Carlos Rodon in the first two innings, and the Yankees’ offense couldn’t rally back. Despite this setback, Carlos Rodon maintains a commendable 3.28 ERA with a 1.11 WHIP and an 81:23 K: BB ratio through 85 innings across 15 starts this season.

Boone acknowledged that Carlos Rodon frequently pitched into the heart of the plate and the Red Sox capitalized on his mistakes with solid contact and quality at-bats.

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