Rodon strong, Yankees’ bats loud in Subway Series win

The Yankees took down the Mets 6-4 in the 9/11 edition of the Subway Series. Carlos Rodon got the starting nod for the Yankees and faced off against Nolan McLean. 

“It means a lot,” Judge said of representing the city of New York on such an emotional day. “You know, going back, I just think about that day. I was a young kid, and kind of waking up and my parents kind of telling me what's going on about the acts of terrorism that happened. I just remember my mom being like, there's some bad meds, some bad things. But there's a lot of heroes out there right now that are standing up and doing the right thing. So I just remembered her always talking about the heroes and the ones who get a chance to come home and see their families and get a chance to be a part of that. So getting a chance represents the NYPD, the fire department, everybody who made the ultimate sacrifice; it meant a lot to them.”

Rodon worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 top half of the first inning and recorded a pair of strikeouts. 

Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger kicked off the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back singles. Then Aaron Judge worked a four-pitch walk to load the bases with nobody out. Sepmcer Jones came through with an RBI single to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. But unfortunately, George Lombard Jr. bounced into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. 

The Mets responded with a run in the top half of the second inning. An error from Jones put two runners in scoring position with one out.  Then an RBI groundout from Christopher Morel tied the game. 

The Yankees put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the second inning, as Anthony Volpe and Rice each singled. Belli followed with a three-run bomb to give the Yankees a 4-1 advantage. 

Rodon navigated around a two-out base-knock in the top of the third, putting together a shutdown inning. Rodon worked a 1-2-3 top of the fourth inning and picked up two more strikeouts to put his total up to five for the ballgame. 

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Rice led things off with a solo shot the other way, his 37th home run of the year to extend the Yankees' lead to 5-1. 

Rodon retired the side in order in the top of the sixth inning and notched two more strikeouts, giving him eight for the night and making it 10 straight strikeouts. 

Rodon picked up the first out in the seventh inning, then allowed a single to end his night. Paul Blackburn took over and walked a batter, then allowed an RBI single to A.J. Ewing to cut the Yankees' lead to 5-2. Blackburn walked a batter to load the bases with two outs; Brent Headrick took over and induced a lineout to strand the bases loaded. 

Final line for Rodon: 6.1 innings pitched, three hits allowed, two runs, only one earned due to the error from Jones, walked one, and struck out eight on 93 pitches. He threw his fastball 44% of the time, the sinker 20%, the slider 19%, the changeup 15%, and the curveball 1%. Rodon topped out at 96.9 mph, sitting at 94.7 mph, and had 18 whiffs. 

“I thought Wells had a really good game plan back there,” Rodon said. “I just kind of rolled with him and just focused on making pitches and getting ahead and getting outs.”

Headrick came back out for the top of the eighth inning and walked a pair of batters and allowed a single to load the bases with one out. David Bednar came in looking for a five-out save and allowed a sacrifice fly to Marcus Semien to cut the Yankees' lead to 5-3, then picked up a flyout, stranding runners at the corners.

Luis Garcia Jr. and Jones kicked off the bottom of the eighth inning with back-to-back singles. Ryan McMahon tacked on an insurance run with an RBI single, making it a 6-3 ballgame. 

Ewing led off the ninth inning with a solo shot, cutting the Yankees' lead to 6-4. With one out, Francisco Lindor singled to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of the highest-paid player in MLB, former Yankee Juan Soto. Soto grounded into a game-ending 3-6-3 double play. 

The Yankees will look to win the series tomorrow with Gerrit Cole on the mound, facing off against Zac Thorton. First pitch is slated for 1:35 p.m. ET on the YES Network. 

“I mean, we try to come out here and win every night; so same thing tomorrow, that's it,” Rodon said. “I mean, just next, you know, win, next, win next. That's just kind of the mindset.” 

My thoughts on the game: I didnt get to watch as much of this game as I would have liked so I am going to keep it short and sweet. Great start from Rodon, he is starting to round into form right in time for the stretch run. Blackburn and Headricks command were both a tick off tonight asd they both walked a couple of batters. Bednar give up a couple of his including a bomb,but he was able to pick up the final five outs for his 33rd save of the season. Rice led the charge offensively with three hits, including his 37th home run of the season. Belli also had a big night with a pair of hits, three RBIs and a three-run bomb accounting for all three of those RBIs. Judge reached base twice with a walk and a single and most importantly he played in all nine innings for the first time since returning from the IL. Garcia also had three hits as he continues his red hot stretch at the plate. Jones had a multi hits game as well and got the scoring started with an RBI single. Just a great night from the offense all around with 13 hits and six runs. The Yankees are now 52-6 on the season when the score five runs or more. Unfortunately the Rays also won tonight so the Yankees didnt gain any ground on them. On to tomorrow as the Yankees will look to win the series. Sorry for the late upload on these, I have had to work on Friday night the last few weeks.