Elmer Rodriguezs dud sends sloppy Yankees to loss against lowly Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif.— After his first four big league starts were all fairly similar — meaning not particularly effective — Elmer Rodríguez dazzled his last time out, offering hope the young right-hander had figured things out in his time back at Triple-A.Then came another dud Monday, with most of his teammates following suit.
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.Rodríguez walked three batters, hit two more and gave up four runs in 3 ²/₃ innings as the Yankees fell flat all around following their big weekend against the Red Sox, losing 10-1 to the Angels, who came into the night tied for the worst record in baseball.Coming off a high-stakes series win over the Red Sox, with four games in three days and then a cross-country flight Sunday night, the Yankees (78-60) were not sharp in any area Monday.
They wasted a chance to pick up a game on the Rays, remaining 4 ¹/₂ games behind them in the division, while the Red Sox moved back within three games of the Yankees for the top AL wild card.Any chance the Yankees had of coming back after Rodríguez spotted the Angels (53-85) a 4-0 lead was sabotaged by some sloppy play late with three errors, two charged to José Caballero on one play.Rodríguez had actually flown ahead of the rest of his teammates, landing in Los Angeles around 7:30 p.m.local time Sunday to get a good night’s rest, though it did not make a difference.
After tossing six innings of three-run ball against the Astros last week, Rodríguez needed 91 pitches to record 11 outs Monday, with his velocity falling off late in addition to his poor command.In relief, Michael Fulmer, Luis Gil (in his first career relief appearance) and David Bednar (who got hit around in a 28-pitch eighth after pitching just once in the past 10 days) each gave up at least one run, allowing the game to get out of hand.The Yankees made plenty of loud contact early agains...