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Carlos Rodon Joins Undesirable New York Yankees History on Friday Night

The New York Yankees lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night as they maintain a 1.0 game lead in the battle for the top seed in the American League playoffs.

Brady Farkas

New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Yankee Stadium on Sept 27.
New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Yankee Stadium on Sept 27. / John Jones-Imagn Images
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One day after officially clinching the American League East, the New York Yankees lost 4-2 against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Yankee Stadium.

After the loss, the Yankees are now 93-67 on the season. With two games left in the year, the Yankees are 1.0 game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians for the top seed in the American League playoffs.

Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon went 5.1 innings in the loss, allowing two earned runs on four hits. He walked four and struck out five. Rodon will finish the regular season at 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA, certainly an improvement on his disastrous first year in Pinstripes (2023).

Though the numbers are respectable, Rodon did join some undesirable team history when he allowed a sixth inning home run.

Per Katie Sharp of Stathead:

Yankees with 30+ HR allowed and 10+ Hit Batters in a season:

Carlos Rodon (2024)
Randy Johnson (2005)
Javier Vazquez (2004)

Rodon has the ability to dominate any time he takes the mound, but also has the ability to get hit around a bit.

It's unknown how Rodon figures into the Yankees postseason rotation at this time. Gerrit Cole is the clear choice for any game one, but Rodon or Luis Gil could both be options in game two's.

The Yankees and Pirates will play again on Saturday afternoon with first pitch coming at 1:05 p.m. ET. Rookie of the Year candidate Paul Skenes will take the ball for Pittsburgh while Gil pitches for the Yankees.

Skenes is 11-3 with a 1.99 ERA while Gil is 15-6 with a 3.27.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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