Yankees snap three-game skid with 4-3 win over Tigers
- Davis Cornell
- Jun 23
- 4 min read
The Yankees took down the Tigers 4-3 to put an end to their losing streak. Carlos Rodon got the starting nod for the Yankees and faced off against Casey Mize.
Jasson Dominguez ripped a one-out double to right field in the top half of the first inning, then stole third base. Cody Bellinger followed with a walk to set the Yankees up with runners at the corners. However, Paul Goldschmidt flew out, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. grounded out to strand Belli and Dominguez.
Rodon worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 bottom half of the first inning on just 12 pitches.
The Tigers struck first in the bottom half of the third inning on a wild pitch from Rodon and an RBI single from Dillon Dingler to make it 2-0.
In the top of the fourth inning, Jazz and Spencer Jones each singled to put runners at the corners with one out. José Caballero made it a 2-1 game with an RBI groundout.
Rodon worked a shutdown bottom of the fourth inning with some help from Belli, who gunned down a runner at the plate with a perfect throw to end the inning.
“I mean, what a great throw,” Rodon. “I think it was a fastball, like middle in. He made a good swing on it. And I was surprised they sent him, because Cody's got a good arm. He's a great defender. And of course, he comes up and throws it right on the money.”
Paul Goldschmidt legged out a one-out infield single in the top of the sixth inning. Jazz followed with a two-run bomb to deep right-center field, giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead. Caballero then singled through the left side of the infield. The next batter, Austin Wells, drilled an RBI double to extend the Yankees' lead.
“I realized that he wasn't throwing me much fastball, so I just got in there, stuck with the off-speed and got one,” Jazz said.
The Tigers responded with an RBI double from Matt Vierling to make it a 4-3 ballgame. Rodon picked up his fifth strikeout to pick up the first out and end his night. Fernando Cruz took over with the tying run on second base and picked up a strikeout as well as a groundout to strand the tying run.
Final line for Rodon: 5.1 innings pitched, allowing six hits, three runs, walking two, and striking out five on 87 pitches. He threw his fastball 47% of the time, the slider 26%, the changeup 18%, the sinker 7%, and the curveball 1%. Rodon topped out at 97.1 mph, averaging 94 on his heater, and had 14 whiffs.
“It was OK,” Rodon said. “Obviously, some gave up, I think, three two-strike hits. Just got to put guys away. But all in all, I thought Wells was great behind the plate. Offensively, we swung it well and played some good defense. And we won the game, so that's what's important.”
Brent Headrick replaced Cruz in the bottom of the seventh and allowed a one-out single, but worked a scoreless inning thanks to a beautiful shoestring catch from Dominguez, who fired to first base for a double play.
Headrick came back out for the bottom of the eighth and gave up a leadoff single, then picked up the first two out. The Yankees called on David Bednar to attempt a four-out save, and he picked up the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth and worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 inning to pick up the save and snap the Yankees' three-game losing streak.
The Yankees will look to win the series tomorrow with Ryan Weathers on the mound, who will be tasked with facing one of the best pitchers in baseball, Tarik Skubal. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
My thoughts on the game: A much-needed win from the Yankees. Solid start from Rodon. It feels like he hasn't quite had his best stuff yet this season, but he's still been solid. Cruz picked up two huge outs to strand the tying run on second base and pick up Rodon. Headrick did what he has done all season long and picked up five massive outs to bridge the gap to Bednar. Bednar picked up the final four outs and has been so much better since blowing it against the Mets about a month ago. Since that blown save, Bednar has tossed 13 innings, allowing one run, five hits, walking five, and striking out 15. Jazz, who rightfully caught a lot of flak last night and this morning for playing the field with a lollipop in his mouth with the Yankees down 5-1, was the hero tonight with a two-run bomb. Wells drove in what proved to be the winning run via an RBI double. Caballero also had an RBI to get the Yankees on the board. Anthony Volpe had a couple of hits, as he continues his hot hitting. Just a great night all around. On to tomorrow, as the Yankees will have their work cut out for them if they want to win the series against Skubal.
“The lollipop kid came through tonight in a big way, so that was good,” Aaron Boone said of Jazz. “He can have all the lollypops he wants now, so we're good.”
Comments