Another Classic Carlos Rodon Start

 For the first time in the Bronx in the new 2025 season, last night felt like a big game. Following the Yankee bullpen implosion the night before, both teams sent their Opening Day starters to the mound, and the two lineups were hot going into the contest, it felt like an extremely early test. And the Yankees barely failed that test.

Last night was the full Carlos Rodon experience. Around baseball there are certain marks set by pitchers that have nicknames. Like a complete game where the pitcher throws under 100 pitches is called a “Maddux” after Greg Maddux. Nathan Eovaldi just did that earlier in the week against the Cincinnati Reds. Or a deGrom, named after Jacob deGrom, where a pitcher throws seven plus innings allows two or fewer runs and their team still loses the game. Hunter Greene had that happen to him the day after Eovaldi threw his “Maddux.” Well last night in the Bronx was a “Rodon.” A game where a pitcher throws six or more innings, gives up four plus runs, including a home run, strikes out five or more batters, and the team comes close but doesn’t win the game.

In other words, the pitcher keeps you in the game but does just enough for your team to lose the game. An almost quality start. Almost.

Rodon last night gave up a two-run shot in the first inning, settled down, kept the Yankees in the game, gave them some needed length, but because Gallen was on the bump for Arizona, even an early two-run hole felt like five in real time.

Let me be clear, Carlos Rodon is not a bad starting pitcher. Far from it. However, he’s not good enough to be a number one or two starter in baseball anymore, but he is being asked to do it out of need. His time to be at the top of the food chain in baseball has passed. He’s still a nice piece to a rotation but cannot be relied upon to be a difference maker. It will be an extra hurtle that the Yankee lineup will have to clear all season long. Last night, the hurtle was too big to clear.

Anthony Volpe however with his new “torpedo” bat, which is on sale by the way, gave the Yankees actual hope after swatting his 4th home run of the early campaign just over the right field wall to cut the Arizona lead to just one with another red hot Yankee hitter, Austin Wells due up next. Wells in this game was largely the Bomber offense until the 9th inning. The Yankee backstop had two hits including a double off D-Backs ace Zach Gallen. Wells popped out to the catcher and Jasson Dominguez in, yet another early season big spot struck out swinging to end the rally.

For the first time in 2025, the Yankees have lost a series. Something they didn’t do last year until April 16th against the Blue Jays. The Bombers have a chance to grab the last game of the series and avoid their first chance of getting swept in a three-game series, a feat that didn’t happen until early July a year ago (the Mets swept a late June two-game series in the Bronx).

The key to salvaging the last game of the first homestand is cutting down on the strike outs. The Yankees have 30 punch outs in the last two games and will be facing a guy in Merrill Kelly who loves to have traffic on the bases. In an injury shortened 2024 Kelly had a WHIP of 1.16 and in a full 2023 campaign he had a 1.19 WHIP. The opportunity to go into Pittsburgh on a high note is there.

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