TAMPA — Getting into Friday’s begin towards the Rays, Carlos Rodón’s 12.9 BB% was the fifth-highest determine of any pitcher in baseball.
Requested about that quantity pregame, Aaron Boone stated it has “gotta be better.” However Boone additionally maintained that Rodón has been a lot sharper than his latest strains — suffering from poorly-timed free passes and longballs — would counsel.
“It’s execution in the biggest spots, but I feel like he’s throwing the ball incredibly well,” Boone stated. “There’s no reason that he can’t go out there and do that and run off an impressive string.”
Rodón adopted his supervisor’s feedback by strolling the primary batter he noticed on Friday evening. He walked three extra after that, however a soul-crushing homer by no means adopted within the Yankees’ 1-0 win over the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Area.
As a substitute, Rodón logged six scoreless innings whereas allowing simply two hits. He additionally struck out a season-high 9 batters. His final Okay got here on his 102nd and ultimate pitch of the evening, leading to a loud scream and triumphant strut as he left the mound.
“I think his last two [starts] were actually better,” Boone stated. “They just put two swings out of the ballpark. So he kind of grinded his way. His stuff was good. I just liked the way he kept moving, next pitch, next pitch. There were some struggles in there, some command issues at times within an at-bat, but he was able to make a big pitch, it seemed like, all night long.”
6 Robust Innings for ‘Los 😤 pic.twitter.com/kQG1JGLYUq
Rodón’s capacity to make an enormous pitch was assisted by an uptick in velocity. His fastball averaged 95.8 mph, a 2.1-mph enhance from his yearly common after a handful of chilly climate begins.
“I just had a little more with the fastball,”Rodón stated. “I think the warmer weather helped out. J.C. [Escarra] was great behind the plate, and I just made pitches when I needed to.”
Rodón additionally had some assist from his protection, which he described as “pretty impeccable.”
Anthony Volpe made a reasonably play within the fourth inning, taking a backhanded stab at a Curtis Mead grounder. He then tossed an off-balance throw to Paul Goldschmidt, who scooped the ball as much as full the play.
“I’ve been spoiled having [Anthony Rizzo] and Goldie play first for me,” Volpe stated. “It’s the worst feeling in the world knowing that the ball is going to be in the dirt when it’s on the way. But once they pick it, you feel really good about it, and you thank them.”
The Yankees then stored the Rays off the board within the fifth when José Caballero leaned too far off third on a Taylor Partitions grounder to Goldschmidt. The primary baseman, enjoying in, then obtained Caballero in a rundown. Escarra tagged the runner out in entrance of the plate.
Extra sturdy protection adopted Rodón’s exit, as Jonathan Aranda tried stretching a double right into a triple with Mark Leiter Jr. on the mound within the seventh. That didn’t work out nicely for the Ray, who didn’t run onerous out of the field on the deep drive to middle, as Trent Grisham, Volpe and Oswaldo Cabrera teamed up for a picture-perfect relay.
THE YANKEES EXECUTE A PERFECT RELAY TO NAIL JONATHAN ARANDA AT THIRD! pic.twitter.com/dEL0ZbfzXs
The Yankees would have had a couple of extra runs had it not been for Tampa Bay’s personal internet gem, as Caballero robbed Ben Rice of a two-run homer within the eighth inning. Nevertheless, a second-inning RBI single from Grisham off Rays starter Drew Rasmussen proved to be ample after Fernando Cruz and Luke Weaver took care of the eighth and ninth innings.
“That’s the fun thing about baseball,’ Grisham said. “You just never know when the biggest at-bat of the game is going to be.”
With the Yankees and their renters now midway by way of their four-game set, the Bombers will attempt for a sequence win and their sixth straight victory with Carlos Carrasco on the hill Saturday. The veteran right-hander is coming off his finest begin as a Yankee, as he held the Royals to 1 run over 5 innings on April 14.
Shane Baz will begin for the Rays. He has a 1.42 ERA over three begins this season.
Initially Printed: April 18, 2025 at 9:47 PM EDT
