Access the Yankees beat like never before
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.
TAMPA – Carlos Rodón’s stretches of dominance over his last few starts had been followed by “buts” because of walks that give way to costly, game-wrecking home runs.
On Friday, there were no ifs, ands or buts about it: the left-hander shoved.
While Rodón still walked four batters, they served as just footnotes rather than land mines as he struck out nine across six shutout innings in the Yankees’ fifth straight win, 1-0 over the Rays at Steinbrenner Field.
The Yankees (13-7) needed Rodón to be just about perfect because runs were difficult to come by against Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, though an RBI single from Trent Grisham in the second inning was enough to get by.
Rodón let out a scream after his 102nd and final pitch of the night struck out Danny Jansen to end the sixth inning, finally making it through an outing without a few bad pitches sabotaging it.
On a night when his velocity was up, perhaps because of the warmer conditions, Rodón scattered just two hits.
The walks remain a concern — he has now issued 16 across 29 innings this season — but on Friday he made sure they did not derail him.
Behind Rodón, the Yankees got scoreless innings from Mark Leiter Jr., Fernando Cruz and Luke Weaver — who each struck out two — to slam the door shut.
Tampa Bay Rays during the second inning of a baseball game
Friday, April 18, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. AP
The Yankees played some terrific defense throughout the night to help keep the shutout intact.
In the seventh against Leiter, that came in the form of a strong relay to nail the leadoff man at third base. Jonathan Aranda drilled a fly ball that landed on the warning track in center field, but Grisham fielded it and fired to Anthony Volpe, who delivered a perfect throw to Oswaldo Cabrera for the out.
- CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS
In the fourth, Volpe was at the heart of another gem.
The shortstop is in the midst of a rough stretch offensively — going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Friday — but he has not let it affect his defense at all.
Curtis Mead led off the frame with a ground ball into the hole, but Volpe stretched out to snag it and then, with his momentum going away from first base, fired a throw that Paul Goldschmidt picked on a hop for the out.
Goldschmidt, who went 3-for-4 for his 10th multi-hit game of the season, also had some heady defense in the fifth.
With a runner on third and one out, the Yankees infield was playing in when Taylor Walls hit a sharp grounder to first.
Goldschmidt fielded it and ran right at Jose Caballero, who was stuck in no-man’s land between third and home.
It eventually turned into a rundown for the second out that helped keep the shutout intact.
Ben Rice nearly clubbed his sixth home run of the year in the eighth inning, which would have been a two-run shot for some more breathing room, but Jose Caballero made a spectacular leaping grab at the right-field wall to rob him.