By Ed Botti
May 3, 2024
About Yesterday:
Photo AP
On the 85th anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s last game ever played, the Yankees squared off against the Baltimore Orioles at a sun drenched Camden Yards in front of 27,299 fans, many whom drove down from the New York area anticipating a final round brawl between the two AL East heavy weights.
A chance to send a message to the defending AL East Champs.
What they got was an uninspiring performance as the Yankees failed to even the series in a 7-2 Orioles victory and lost the series 3 games to 1.
In one corner stood Yankee lefty Carlos Rodon and in the other corner stood Orioles righty Kyle Bradish.
Quick Stats:
Carlos Rodon - 4 innings, 8 hits, and 6 earned runs
Juan Soto - 2-4 with a triple
Gleyber Torres – 1 -3 with his first 2024 home run
Kyle Bradish - 4.2 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run
Aaron Judge – 0-2, 1 K
Jorge Mateo – 1-2, 2 RBI
Police officer in centerfield - 15 minutes of fame due to the game being delayed because his wrist watch was flashing in sunlight distracting Juan Soto.
Big Story –
When the 2024 season was published last winter I circled this 4 game series as the first real test for the Yankees. I did so because it was approximately 1 month into the season and both teams would have gone through the ups and downs of April, and we would be given a glimpse into how they would start a season long battle for AL East supremacy.
The Yankees sent their defacto ace Carlos Rodon to the mound in hopes of coming away with a split in this 4 game set. The assignment was clear, give your team 6 or 7 strong innings and keep the ball in the park to allow your defense to make plays behind you.
Carlos did neither and I would have to say this was his worst performance since way back when in 2023. Rodon gave up 3 home runs and 6 runs in 4 very disappointing innings. The Yankees needed him to step up and failed to do so.
Since scoring 30 runs and banging out 37 hits in their final 18 innings in Milwaukee, the Yankees meagerly had only 6 runs and 22 hits in the four game set. Alarmingly, five of those runs came via the home run and only one single run was produced otherwise.
Sorry, but you can’t win a lot ball games that way.
Player(s) of the Game –
From a Yankee perspective I would give the game ball to Michael Tonkin who had his best outing as a Yankee tossing 2 shutout innings. Chipping in was Gleyber Torres who had his first long ball of 2024, which followed him failing to bare hand a pass at second base from Anthony Volpe. His 5th error of the season.
From a Baltimore perspective Ryan Mountcastle and Jorge Mateo each homered off of Rodon while Jordan Westburg went 2-4 with 2 RBI.
Notable Performances:
When the offense goes 1-6 with RISP and your starter can’t pitch past the 4th inning, "notable" would not be the word I would use.
Better to Forget:
This was a very sloppy game filled with early missed opportunities and what appears to be a very lack luster approach. We all know you can’t win every game, but at the very least we expect to see a valiant and spirited effort. When this game started it looked like the Yankees were playing under water. They seemed slow and even a little disinterested or distracted. I know that sounds extreme but that was the feeling I got from the get go. The one exception was when Rodon masterfully pitched out of a bases loaded no out jam in the second. I saw a little fire in him. But even after the Torres home run as the camera scanned the dugout, it looked lifeless, to me.
My Takes:
It is early, in fact it is very early and the Yankees are 20-13. But when you start 10-2 it is a bit deflating to then go 10- 11. Two weeks ago here at SSTN we discussed Aaron Judge and his slow start. I was of the opinion that it was way too early to worry, and that after another 10 games or so of the same performance level, I may be alarmed. Well, it’s about 10 games later. What we are seeing from the Captain is concerning. I cannot remember a time outside of his 2017 playoff series against Cleveland, when he hit .050 and struck out 16 times in 5 game series, seeing him this lost at the plate. Or, is something else at play here. Did he not recover from his spring oblique injury? Or, does this date back to Dodger Stadium last July?
Next Up
The Yankees head home for a 3 game weekend series against the upstart 18-13 Detroit Tigers. Marcus Stroman squares off against 24 year old right Reese Olsen.
The game can be seen on the YES Network at 7:05 PM.
Rodon served up 3 HRs and the Orioles dented not only Rodon's confidence but also the confidence of some of the fans.
they won the series and claimed first place.
they prevailed in the battle
the war is in early days
and, as expected, Baltimore is formidable
as is New York
First of all, Rodon pitched 4 plus innings. I never understood why they stopped saying pitcher X pitched to 5 batter in the --- inning.
Same offense as last year. Where are all the bunts that try to break slumps?
Matt Blake is useless during the game for the starting pitchers, but after watching what happened in AA to Trystyn Vreiling, I can't really blame Blake, I believe it's an organizational thing. The AA PC was just as useless, staying in the dugout, nor letting the catcher go to the mound. Saving mound visits for later in the game, in my opinion, is STUPID!
To all -
Please don't put links to gaming sites in the comments. Thanks.
Great points Ed.