The Atlanta Braves roughed up Carlos Rodón and the Yankees in a lopsided 8-1 series-opening loss for New York.
Four takeaways from Friday’s game
1. Rodón reverted to his 2023 struggles with his worst outing of 2024, which is either a one-off or a potential sign of things to come. After he scattered five runs on seven hits in five innings of last Saturday’s 8-4 loss at the Boston Red Sox, Rodón (9-4, 3.86 ERA) got rocked by the Braves.
Two first-inning home runs put Atlanta (42-31) in command of an early lead that kept widening at Rodón’s expense. With two outs in the fourth inning and facing a 5-1 deficit, Rodón allowed three more backbreaking runs — Matt Olson‘s two-run homer and Sean Murphy‘s RBI double — to end the day at a season-low 3.2 IP.
Simply put, Rodón — with 93 pitches (56 strikes) while allowing eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits (three homers) and recording three strikeouts to two walks — did not have his stuff. For his sake and the reeling Yankees (51-27), he needs to make sure that this is the worst it gets.
2. On the other side, the opposing southpaw pitched with a lead and never let the Yankees get back in the game. In fact, Chris Sale, who worked through three walks while throwing 61 strikes on 95 pitches, kept the Yankees out of sorts.
Sale allowed one run on one hit while striking out eight in five innings. Ultimately, the Yankees never threatened as the Braves’ bullpen picked up where Sale left off.
3. Credit Yoendrys Gómez, whom the Yankees recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier in the day. He followed Rodón’s fourth-inning exit with the long relief appearance that the Yankees needed.
In 4.2 scoreless IP, Gómez yielded three hits while striking out five and walking three on 78 pitches (48 strikes). Aaron Boone said pregame that the Yankees were looking for length from Gómez out of the bullpen, and the RHP delivered in a tough situation.
4. The Yankees have lost five of their past six games, with the lone win coming in Tuesday’s 4-2 victory against the Baltimore Orioles. Depending on what happens in the Orioles’ game at the Houston Astros on Friday, New York could be out of the AL East’s top spot.
Who is the MVP?
Sale, who followed the tone-setting first inning by Atlanta’s bats by grinding out a start that kept New York frustrated.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees and Braves continue their three-game series with Saturday’s 7:15 p.m. start featuring RHPs Marcus Stroman (6-3, 3.08 ERA) and Charlie Morton (4-3, 3.91 ERA).
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