Yankees’ Carlos Rodon uses changeup to shut down O’s
BALTIMORE — Carlos Rodón has demonstrated all season that he is no longer a two-pitch pitcher, but he put an exclamation point on that case Saturday.
Nearing the end of what has been his best year in pinstripes, Rodón leaned on an especially sharp changeup to cruise through seven strong innings in the Yankees’ 6-1 win over the Orioles.
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For the first time since 2018, neither the four-seam fastball nor the slider was Rodón’s most-used pitch.
Instead it was his changeup, which he threw 32 times (out of 96 pitches) to generate 12 swings-and-misses, including three of his eight strikeouts.
“I thought just the way Ben [Rice] called that game set up the changeup well,” Rodón said. “He called the pitches, I just tried to go execute. Outer lane was open with the fastball, I just tried to tunnel that with the changeup. I was fortunate to have a good one today.”
Two nights after watching Max Fried dominate the Orioles with his own changeup, Rodón followed his lead.
The left-hander scattered four hits (two of them infield singles) while walking just one, which turned into the only run he allowed, in the seventh inning.
“[The changeup] was probably as good as I’ve seen it,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He used it a lot, but then had everything else going off of it. You see the pitchability, the pitcher on display now — the sinker, the four-seam, little more life at the end of the game when he knows he’s towards the end and he reaches back a little bit for more. But the changeup and slider were both really good for him tonight. Just another strong outing in what’s been a really strong year for him.”
Rodón picked up his career-high 17th win while lowering his ERA to 3.04 in his 32nd start of the season.
Starting at shortstop for the third straight game, Anthony Volpe (2-for-3, walk, steal) reached base safely three times for the second time in his past four games.
He had reached base three times in a game just once in 67 games before that.
He also turned in more strong defense as he continued to look better since receiving a cortisone injection in his left shoulder.
That was by no means going to stop the questions about whether Volpe or José Caballero will be starting for the Yankees by the playoffs, but they are at least giving Volpe some run to prove he can be the guy that they believe he can be.
“Hopefully, he’s finding his rhythm,” Boone said.
Aaron Judge started in right field Saturday for the third straight game, the first time he has done so since returning from his right elbow flexor strain. Boone planned to DH him on Sunday with Giancarlo Stanton likely to get the day off.
“It feels like it is improving,” Boone said. “He’s been like, ‘Yeah, let’s go. Let’s go.’ Keep taking it day by day.”
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, one of the top Yankees pitching prospects, made his Triple-A debut on Saturday, giving up four runs on eight hits while striking out three across five innings with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The 22-year-old right-hander, acquired from the Red Sox last offseason for catcher Carlos Narváez, was initially scheduled to start Game 3 of Double-A Somerset’s playoff series on Friday, but they were eliminated in two games.
So Rodriguez-Cruz, nearing the end of a terrific season between High-A and Double-A, was rewarded with a bump up to Triple-A.
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