Carlos Rodon Looks to Pitch Well in Game 2

Carlos Rodon again needed to pitch well tonight, and the Yankees needed to hit. The Yankees’ bullpen surrendered nine runs in the seventh inning last night. While the Yankees did not use any of their high-leverage relievers in game one, length from Rodon was needed.

Rodon had another chance to prove he is the Yankees’ ace pitcher, and he pitched okay, but had a difficult fifth inning, and the Yankees lost this game 11-1. Rodon came into this game tied for the American League lead in wins with 16. Who do you think should start the first game of the playoffs for the Yankees?

Lineups As Carlos Rodon Goes for Win 17

The Detroit Tigers had Jahmai Jones leading off, and he was the designated hitter. Kerry Carpenter pinch-hit for him in the seventh inning. Gleyber Torres was the second baseman and batted second. Wenceel Pérez was the right fielder and batted third. Spencer Torkelson was the first baseman and batted fourth. Riley Greene was the left fielder and batted fifth. Andy Ibanez was the third baseman and batted sixth. Colt Keith pinch-hit for him in the ninth and stayed in to play third base. 

Dillon Dingler was the catcher and batted seventh. Parker Meadows was the center fielder and batted eighth. Javier Baez was the shortstop and batted ninth. He moved to third base in the ninth inning. Trey Sweeney came in to play shortstop in the ninth inning. 

For the Yankees, Trent Grisham played center field and led off. Aaron Judge was the designated hitter and batted second. Austin Slater pinch-hit for him in the ninth inning. Cody Bellinger was the left fielder and batted third. Ben Rice was the first baseman and batted fourth. Giancarlo Stanton was the right fielder and batted fifth. Jasson Dominguez pinch-hit for him in the ninth inning.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was the second baseman and batted sixth. Austin Wells was the catcher and batted seventh. Jose Caballero was the shortstop and batted eighth. Ryan McMahon was the third baseman and batted ninth. Ahmed Rosario pinch-hit for him in the sixth inning, and he stayed in to play third base.

News and Notes

The Yankees’ bullpen had a meltdown in the seventh inning last night. Three pitchers allowed nine runs, and the first two did not record an out. The historic meltdown was possibly the worst defensive half-inning the Yankees have ever played. It is a good thing the shocking loss only counts as one loss.

With his first-inning home run last night, Judge broke a tie with Yogi Berra and took solo possession of fifth place on the Yankees’ all-time home run list. He is just two home runs shy of tying Joe DiMaggio for fourth place on the Yankees’ all-time list. It was a bright spot in an otherwise forgettable night.

Game Reaction

It was amazing how well Jack Flaherty and Rodon pitched through the first four innings of the game. There were no runs scored. The wheels kind of came off for Rodon in the fifth inning. He loaded the bases on a single, a walk, and a hit by pitch. All with one out. Then, he allowed two runs, and a very good pitch count for Rodon became much less good. He got out of the inning with 89 pitches. He struck out seven batters.

Rodon was done after six innings. The long fifth inning did him in, and the Yankees were forced to turn to their shaky bullpen. Rodon was replaced by Mark Leiter Jr., who was part of the Yankees’ bullpen implosion that occurred. Leiter promptly allowed the first two batters to reach, then he balked. The Yankees need to score some runs now. Enough with the anemic offense. Flaherty had a 6.68 earned run average in his last 10 starts. That was not the case tonight, as the Yankees made him look like Cy Young.

Scoring Summary

In the fifth inning, Torres singled in two runs. Dingler and Meadows both scored. In the seventh inning, Torres grounded out, and Meadows scored. The Tigers led 3-0. In the eighth inning, Greene hit a two-run home run, and Torkelson scored. It was 5-0 Tigers. Then, Meadows singled and Dingler scored. It was 6-0 Tigers. Then, Carpenter hit a two-run home run, and Meadows scored. It was 8-0 Tigers.

In the eighth inning, Wells hit a solo home run. It was 8-1 Yankees. In the ninth inning, Greene hit a sacrifice fly, and Perez scored. It was 9-1 Tigers. Then, Keith hit a two-run home run. It was 11-1 Tigers. The Yankees’ bullpen woes were so severe that they had a position player, Austin Slater, come in to pitch in the ninth inning. The Yankees have been playing baseball for well over 100 years. This is only the second time they have lost consecutive games by more than 10 runs.

Conclusion

Rodon needed to pitch well tonight, and he battled to do so. After the flabbergasting meltdown by the Yankees last night, they needed him to be a stopper. It is a good thing the meltdown last night only counts for one loss. New York has Cam Schlittler pitching for them tomorrow night against Mr. To-be-Determined. This is a huge game, and on the 24th anniversary of the September 11 tragedy in the United States, President Donald Trump is scheduled to throw out the first pitch of the game.