NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Rodón walked off the mound frustrated, but without the confrontation that marred his 2023 finale.
He wasted a two-run lead when he gave up consecutive sixth-inning home runs to Nick Gonzales and Bryan Reynolds in the New York Yankees’ 4-2 loss Friday night that delayed clinching home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs.
In his first season after signing a $162 million, six-year contract, Rodón allowed all eight batters he faced to reach base and eventually score in a 12-5 loss at the Kansas City. He exchanged words with Matt Blake and then turned his back on the pitching coach.
Manager Aaron Boone was effusive in his praise for Rodón, who finished 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA over 172 innings in 32 starts. Rodón sank to 3-8 with a career-worst 6.85 ERA over 14 outings in a 2023 season that didn’t start until July 7 because a strained left forearm and back stiffness.
“It takes a lot of fortitude to bounce back from that,” Boone said. “That’s credit to him entirely, taking the bull by the horns and getting after it in every kind of way starting in the winter, his connection with our pitching group, with our training staff, with our strength and conditioning, he was just on board, locked in, really from jump in the winter, he carried into spring training and he’s continued that in such a good way, but that’s him being motivated.”
Rodón was heartened by Boone’s words.
“It’s real nice coming from manager. I’m so glad he’s proud of me,” Rodón said. “The goal was to go out there and make every start this year and did that.”
He was 56-46 with a 3.60 ERA over eight seasons when he signed with the Yankees and was among the disappointments of a New York team that last year missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Staked to a lead on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s two-run single in the fifth, Rodón looked angry at himself when he was removed in the top of the sixth. He allowed four hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings, and the Pirates won 4-2 after Reynolds’ tiebreaking, two-run homer off Tommy Kahnle in the eighth.
Rodón has given up a career-high 31 homers, 23 of them solo. His total matched Toronto’s José Berríos for second in the major leagues, two behind Boston’s Kutter Crawford.
“Pitches up in the zone with the fastball and guys cheat to that, sell out,” Boone said. “Feel like he’s done a good job here lately of managing that a little bit.”
Rodón figures to follow Gerrit Cole in the Division Series rotation and start either Game 2 at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 7 or Game 3 on the road two days later. Those kind of games are why he signed with New York.
“We start here in the Bronx,” he said. “It’s going to be electric.”
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