Yankees 9, Blue Jays 2: Rodón rocked again, O's take AL East lead
06/27/2024 10:09 PM
The Orioles passed the Yankees for the AL East lead on a night that never looked competitive for New York.
An old cliché is that you're never as good as you look at your best, and you're never as bad as you look at your worst. When the Yankees were off to their 50-22 start, there was optimism, but also a sense that they were in lockstep with the first half of that cliché. Right now, we can only hope that they've simply moved on to the second half because they have looked like absolute butt in the second half of June.
It didn't matter that the Blue Jays were in last place or that they had recently suffered an atrocious seven-game losing streak. They jumped all over Carlos Rodón and scored five runs before a single out was recorded, reminiscent of his horrific 2023 finale. It wouldn't get quite that bad for the lefty, but at the same time, the ballgame could have ended right then and there. The shell-shocked offense never got off the ground against José Berríos and Toronto won easily, 9-2.
The Yanks have now dropped four straight and 9 of their last 11 games. They've also lost their first-place lead in the AL East, as the Orioles pulled ahead of them with a win against Texas. By pure record, they're in a virtual tie, but Baltimore is percentage points ahead and also holds the tiebreaker over New York. Everything is swell!
Way back in the top of the first, there was faint hope. Anthony Volpe began the game with a single, and though Berríos retired both Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, he walked Alex Verdugo. That Volpe in scoring position for at least one hitter who has inspired hope of late, rookie Ben Rice. Nothing came of it, as Rice popped up to Ernie Clement in back of third base.
Rodón's first inning was an awful combination of bad pitching and bad luck. Bo Bichette led off with a sharp grounder that Volpe couldn't reach, as it went just under his glove. Although there was no doubt that it was a clean hit, the shortstop was mad that he couldn't stop it. Rodón quickly complicated matters for himself by drilling Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
Then, on a 2-1 count, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. broke his bat and hit one just 64.9 mph, but it flared down the first-base line for an RBI double.
If that was an unexpected positive result for Toronto, then that was nothing compared to the slow Justin Turner dribbler that rolled up the first-base line, only to hit the bag. Just like that, it was 2-0, Jays.
So, no, the baseball gods were not smiling on Rodón. At the same time, there's no excusing what happened next with George Springer and his 68 OPS+.
It was 5-0 with Rodón still in search of his first out. Eek.
The Jays would bat around in the first, though Rodón did not allow another run. Berríos breezed through the second without much a sweat beyond an Austin Wells walk, so Rodón trudged back out to the mound.
Once again, an IKF plunking caused problems. It was the second of three times that the former Yankee was hit on Thursday night. Guerrero flew out, but after Turner worked a free pass, Rodón again got rocked by the past-his-prime Springer.
Embarrassing. What else is there even to say? That can't happen.
The rest of the ballgame was fait accompli. The nicest thing that can be said about Rodón was that he stayed in the game and wore it to save the bullpen a bit by sticking in there through five. A Vladito bomb was the only other Jays scoring in the game, but the Yankees' offense showed little fight against Berríos.
New York did get on the board in the fifth when Berríos hit Oswaldo Cabrera and Trent Grisham connected for a two-run homer. Unfortunately, that was one just two Yankees hits after Volpe's single in the first at-bat of the ballgame. Berríos went seven strong, striking out eight. The Yanks' third and final hit of the game was a Jahmai Jones infield hit in the ninth. Enthralling, eh?
The Yankees will try to stop humiliating themselves and prevent their losing streak from hitting five tomorrow night. Former Jays starter Marcus Stroman will take the hill at the place he called home for the first five and a half seasons of his career. He'll face southpaw Yusei Kikuchi, with first pitch coming at 7:07pm ET.
