Carlos Rodon struggles in first start of spring as Yankees fall to Blue Jays

The Yankees fought back after an early deficit, but gave up two runs in the eighth inning and dropped their first Grapefruit League exhibition game of the spring to the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-4.

Here are the takeaways…

— Carlos Rodon struggled in his first start of spring training, allowing three earned runs on five hits with a walk and strikeout over just 2.2 innings. He let up a one-out single to new Blue Jay Andres Gimenez in the bottom of the first, as he stole second and then scored on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s single to right field. The second run scored on a wild pitch in the second inning. Rodon gave up his third run in the third inning on a two-out single to Alejandro Kirk.

— Yankees top prospect Spencer Jones hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to cut Toronto’s lead in half, 4-2. The center fielder finished the game 1-for-2 at the plate with a walk and strikeout. He hit .259 with 17 HRs, 30 doubles, six triples, and 78 RBI last season over 122 games with the Double-A Somerset Patriots.

— 25-year-old Harrison Cohen replaced Rodon on the mound and allowed one hit over 0.1 IP. Brandon Leibrandt then came in and tossed three innings, allowing a solo homer to Orelvis Martinez in the bottom of the fourth inning. Leibrandt, 32, pitched in two games for the Cincinnati Reds in 2024 and owned a 4.41 ERA over 17 starts with the Triple-A Louisville Bats.

— Ismael Munguia, 26, who signed a minor league deal with the Yanks in December, drove in George Lombard Jr. on a triple to right field in the top of the sixth inning. He was left stranded at third base as Braden Shewmake grounded out to first to end the frame.

— Alexander Vargas hit a game-tying solo homer in the top of the eighth inning. The 23-year-old hit .254 with four home runs, seven doubles, and five triples over 73 games in Double-A last season.

— Everson Pereira got the start at DH and went 1-for-1 with a run scored, walk, and HBP. He hit .265 with 10 homers and eight doubles over 40 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2024, but had to get season-ending elbow surgery in June. Pereira made his MLB debut in 2023 and recorded 14 hits in 93 at-bats over 27 games.

— Colten Brewer, who signed a minor league contract with New York in December, got in some trouble in the bottom of the eighth inning. Riley Tirotta reached first on a throwing error from 3B Andrew Velazquez and then stole second base. Brewer then let up an RBI double to Steward Berroa and later threw a wild pitch that allowed Berroa to score from third, as the Yanks trailed, 6-4.

— Catcher Ben Rice, 1B Dominic Smith, and 3B Oswaldo Cabrera all went 0-for-3.

Highlights

Upcoming schedule

The Yankees return home for Sunday’s matchup against the Detroit Tigers at 1:05 p.m. Non-roster invitee Sean Boyle is expected to start and will face former No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize.