Two games into this postseason, the big contracts for Aaron Judge and Carlos Rodón have not brought any success for the New York Yankees.
Judge struggled at the plate again on Monday night, while Rodón couldn’t last four innings in his first playoff start with New York during a 4-2 defeat to the Kansas City Royals. This loss tied their best-of-five AL Division Series at one game each.
Game 3 is set for Wednesday night in Kansas City.
“If I’m not hitting 1.000, I’m not feeling good,” Judge said. “So just got to keep getting on base for the guys behind me. If they get on, I’ve got to drive them in.”
With a 1-0 lead going into the fourth inning, Rodón quickly lost it by giving up a leadoff homer to Salvador Perez on a 2-0 slider, leaving the $162 million pitcher frustrated.
This was Perez’s fourth career homer off Rodón, and the All-Star catcher had hit 12 for 26 (.462) with nine RBIs in their regular-season matchups.
Rodón started strong, letting out a loud cheer after striking out his first three batters on just 12 pitches (10 for strikes) and later hitting 99 mph on the radar gun. However, he struggled in a scoreless third inning that included two hits and then lost his rhythm in the fourth.
“Stuff-wise, he was excellent tonight. But then all of a sudden just a little scattered there,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
After Perez’s homer, Yuli Gurriel got a single and moved up on a wild pitch. Tommy Pham and No. 9 hitter Garrett Hampson each contributed a run-scoring single on a two-strike slider.
When Maikel Garcia hit an RBI single against reliever Ian Hamilton, Rodón was charged with four runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out seven batters and did not walk anyone.
“Obviously, I want to be better than that — especially how the first three innings went,” Rodón said. “I wouldn’t say I tired out. Just got to be better with those pitches, just more fine with them and get to better spots.”
After a strong regular season, Rodón was chosen to pitch Game 2 with hopes that he would be fully rested for a possible Game 5. However, his performance on Monday did not inspire much confidence.
Rodón had also struggled in two previous postseason games with the Chicago White Sox from 2020 to 2021. He had a record of 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in one short start and a brief relief appearance.
The 31-year-old Rodón finished the season with a record of 16-9 and a 3.96 ERA over 172 innings in 32 starts. This was his second season of a six-year, $162 million contract he signed with the Yankees as a free agent.
However, he was 3-8 with a career-worst 6.85 ERA over 14 games during the 2023 season, which didn’t start until July 7 due to a strained left forearm and back stiffness.
Judge went 1 for 3 with a walk and an infield single. He has a batting average of 1 for 7 with four strikeouts and no RBIs in his first postseason since signing a $360 million, nine-year contract after breaking the American League record with 62 home runs in 2022 and winning the AL MVP award.
New York missed the playoffs last year. The star hitter had a few chances to make an impact in the early innings.
He struck out swinging against Cole Ragans with two runners on and nobody out in the first inning, and then flied out deep to right field with Gleyber Torres on first base in the third inning.
“I just sliced it a little bit,” Judge said. “We get that one to get into the seats, man it’s a different ballgame.”
This year, Judge led the majors with 58 home runs, 144 RBIs, and a 1.159 OPS, helping the Yankees win the AL East title. He batted .322 and scored 122 runs.
But the playoffs have been a different story as he seeks his first World Series appearance in his successful career.
