The last time Carlos Rodón pitched at Angel Stadium, he let his emotions get the best of him.
The southpaw, making just his third start as a Yankee after back and forearm injuries delayed his debut, allowed six earned runs, two home runs and five walks when he pitched in Anaheim on July 19 last year. With the Angels already up 4-0 after the second inning that day, some fans decided to heckle Rodón, who signed a six-year, $162 million contract with the Yankees two offseasons ago.
Rodón responded by blowing a kiss to the fans, who were sitting behind the Yankees’ dugout. While not as obscene as the middle finger that Jack McDowell once flipped in the Bronx, the gesture did not go over well.
“Not the reaction you want, and we’ve talked about it,” Aaron Boone said that day, though it wouldn’t be the last time Rodón’s on-field behavior added insult to an injury-riddled, abysmal season.
The 31-year-old’s second campaign with the Yankees has gone much better thus far. Rodón has a 3.09 ERA through 12 starts after giving up three earned runs over six complete innings on Thursday. The veteran also totaled three hits, one walk, five strikeouts and 87 pitches in the Yankees’ 8-3, series-winning victory over the Angels.
Rodón’s line didn’t tell the entire story, as he retired 14 straight Angels after Long Island native Logan O’Hoppe hit a solo homer in the second inning. Rodón cruised into the seventh before that streak ended with a walk and a single.
Kevin Pillar then doubled, ending Rodón’s night while scoring a run for the Angels. Ian Hamilton then recorded two outs and walked a batter before ex-Yankee Willie Calhoun picked up an RBI single off of Caleb Ferguson.
That run was charged to Rodón, thus ending a 16-game stretch in which Yankees starters had tallied at least five innings while allowing two runs or two fewer. It was the longest such streak in major league history.
While the streak ended, Rodón now has a 2.37 ERA over his last five starts.
Meanwhile, the Yankees had already given themselves a comfy lead.
Aaron Judge put his team on the board with a two-run homer in the fourth. It was his 18th blast of the year, tying him with Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson and Houston’s Kyle Tucker for the league lead.
The Angels’ Adam Cimber then lost control in the seventh, walking four batters. Two of those walks forced in runs before Juan Soto stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and José Suarez on the mound.
Soto proceeded to clear the bases with a triple.
The Yankees added an eighth run in the eighth when Jose Trevino ripped a sac fly to center.
While Anthony Volpe walked, scored a run and recorded an RBI in the game, he went 0-for-4. That ended a 21-game hitting streak for the shortstop.
