Carlos Rodon Leads New York Against Baltimore Orioles In Game 3

Carlos Rodon was staked to a 3-0 lead tonight before he took the mound. The Yankees needed, and got, a shutdown start from the lefty. Behind Rodon, the Yankees won this game 6-1. After the costly loss last night, to Tyler Rodgers (who is having a great season), Rodon had to be a stopper for the Yankees, just like he has been all season. His pursuit of 200 strikeouts got a big boost tonight. Do you think Rodon will be a stopper in the playoffs for the Yankees?

Lineups: Carlos Rodon Starts

The Baltimore Orioles had Jackson Holiday leading off, and he was the second baseman. Jordan Westburg was the third baseman and batted second. Gunnar Henderson was the shortstop and batted third. Tyler O’Neill was the left fielder and batted fourth.  Ryan Mountcastle was the designated hitter and batted fifth. Jeremiah Jackson was the right fielder and batted sixth. Coby Mayo was the first baseman and batted seventh. Alex Jackson was the catcher and batted eighth. Jorge Mateo was the center fielder and batted ninth.

For the Yankees, Trent Grisham played center field and led off. Ben Rice was the catcher and batted second. Aaron Judge was the right fielder and batted third. Cody Bellinger was the left fielder and batted fourth. Giancarlo Stanton was the designated hitter and batted fifth. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was the second baseman and batted sixth. Paul Goldschmidt was the first baseman and batted in the seventh spot. Ryan McMahon was the third baseman and batted ninth. Anthony Volpe was the shortstop and batted ninth.

News and Notes

Last night, in a silver lining for the Yankees, Chisholm Jr. hit his 30th home run. That was coupled with 30 stolen bases. He became just the third Yankee to go 30-30, but he wants to be a 40-40 player. Yankees third-ranked prospect Spencer Jones hit two doubles in his finale with AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre.

In the playoffs, which the Yankees are likely to make, relief pitching will be important. Relievers have been bad for all teams all season long. However, Major League Baseball just published a list of eight relief pitchers who could be important this postseason. Devin Williams is on that list.

Game Reaction

The Orioles are wearing an odd uniform combination for this game. They were wearing orange tops and orange pants. They looked like some kind of creamsicle. This was Rodon’s 32nd start of the season, tops in Major League Baseball. The Yankees needed him to be an ace this year, with Gerrit Cole missing the entire season.

Judge was in right field tonight. Stanton was the designated hitter. They were both in the lineup for the third game in a row. It will be interesting to see if they will both be in the lineup for the day game tomorrow. The Orioles’ starting pitcher, Tomoyuki Sugano, pitched only three innings. He threw 87 pitches and gave up 4 runs and two home runs.

Scoring Summary

In the first inning, Stanton hit a three-run home run. Judge and Bellinger both scored. The Yankees led 3-0. In the third inning, Judge hit a solo home run (his 49th). The Yankees led 4-0. In the fifth inning, Chisholm Jr. singled, and Bellinger scored. It was 5-0 Yankees. In the sixth inning, Grisham singled and Volpe scored. The Yankees took a 6-0 lead. In the seventh inning, Mayo singled and Mountcastle scored, I was 6-1 Yankees. That is how the game ended.

Conclusion

Rodon needed to have a good start for the Yankees tonight, after a costly loss last night (the Blue Jays, who the Yankees are chasing, lost 20-1 to the Kansas City Royals. The Yankees play the fourth and final game of their four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles tomorrow night at 1:35. They then head home after an off day.