NEW YORK — Carlos Rodon did everything right on Thursday night. He struck out seven. He kept the Blue Jays off the board for five innings. He gave the Yankees a chance.
The Yankees lineup gave him nothing back.
The Yankees managed three hits and zero runs in a 2-0 loss at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees split a four-game series they had a chance to win. They have now lost nine of their last 13 games.
It was the second straight night the Yankees went dark offensively. One run scored across two home games. Fewer than 10 hits combined. The franchise has never scored one run or fewer while striking out at least 25 times across two straight home games. Until now.
Rodon’s best start earns nothing
Rodon came in having made two shaky outings since returning from offseason elbow surgery. Neither was encouraging.
Thursday looked different from the start.
He worked five Yankees innings. One run. Three hits. Seven strikeouts. Eighteen swing-and-misses. His fastball velocity was down but it played. He did not try to overpower anyone. He just kept attacking.
The one run he allowed was not his fault. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked in the first, then stole second. Daulton Varsho poked a soft 65.5 mph double down the third base line that caromed off the bag and scored Guerrero. Hard to prevent. Easy to be frustrated by.
Rodon was asked after the game how he viewed the outing overall.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” Rodon said. “I’d like to get deeper into games. It’s a step forward, but I can still be better.”
Manager Aaron Boone did not hold back his praise. He had seen the Yankees’ Rodon fight through two difficult starts and wanted to acknowledge what changed.
“I thought he was great for the Yankees tonight,” Boone said. “The secondary was good, but the fastball was terrific. That’s not an easy team to get swing-and-miss, but the fastball really played. Definitely it was the best of the three [starts]. He stayed within himself and didn’t try to do too much.”
Yankees lineup goes missing against a bullpen game
Toronto did not need a frontline starter to beat the Yankees on their own turf. They sent out a bullpen game and it worked perfectly.
Braydon Fisher and Adam Macko handled the first two innings. Then Spencer Miles took over.
Miles is a Rule 5 draft pick. He had never thrown more than three innings in the majors. On Thursday, he threw 4.1 innings, struck out six, walked one, and looked completely in control. The Yankees had no answer for him.
New York went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Five runners left on base. The best threat came in the sixth. Ben Rice reached second. Jazz Chisholm Jr. came up next and struck out on three pitches. Paul Goldschmidt grounded out. Inning over.
That was it. The Yankees’ best shot, gone.
Boone kept it blunt when asked what has gone wrong over the past two nights.
“Overall, the last couple of weeks, we’ve got to get some guys going, period,” Boone said. “The last two nights, we’ve been quieted quite a bit. We just haven’t created much traffic for ourselves and haven’t put enough pressure on them.”
George Springer made it 2-0 in the seventh. Camilo Doval left a 2-2 slider over the middle of the plate. Springer put it in the left field seats. Solo shot. Game over in all but name.
Judge’s slump hits a career low
Aaron Judge has the seventh-highest OPS in the American League this season. Right now, you would not know it by watching him hit.
He went 0-for-4 Thursday. Struck out in his first at-bat, extending a stretch of seven straight hitless plate appearances. Grounded into a double play to end his night.
Judge has not homered or driven in a run in 10 straight games since May 10 at Milwaukee. That matches the longest RBI drought of his career.
The Yankees captain did not make excuses. He sat with it.
“I’m not doing enough at the plate,” Judge said. “They made some pitches when they needed to. When we needed that big hit or needed to start a little rally, we just couldn’t get going.”
He also pushed back on any idea that the Yankees offense is broken beyond repair.
“We just got to tighten up a couple things here with us and we’ll be right where we need to be,” Judge said. “The offense isn’t too far off. You get a couple timely hits, get a couple walks when you need it, some good things are going to happen.”
Boone was asked directly what is happening with his captain at the plate. He kept it simple.
“Just going through it a little bit right now,” Boone said. “Usually that means good things coming on the other side. He’ll get through it and somebody will pay the price real soon.”
A split and a date with the Rays
The Yankees won the first two games of this series. Then lost the last two by a combined 2-1 over 18 innings. Series split. The Yankees’ record sits at 30-21.
They are now 4.5 games behind the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays.
On Friday night, Gerrit Cole takes the mound at Yankee Stadium for his season debut. It will be his first start since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. The Rays send Nick Martinez (4-1, 1.51 ERA) to oppose him.
Judge acknowledged the disappointment of the split before turning the page.
“We were looking forward to this series, especially after they ended our season last year,” Judge said. “We don’t like splitting that series, but we’ll take care of business in the next one.”
The Yankees need Cole to be sharp. The offense needs to wake up. Friday is the deadline for both.
Can the Yankees rebound against the Rays? What do you think?
