NEW YORK — Carlos Rodón put his miserable first season with the Yankees behind him, pitching like the All-Star New York expected when it squandered an eight-year, $162 million contract on the lefty.
Rodón retired his first 16 batters and earned his sixth consecutive career-best start on Wednesday night, helping the The Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 9-5 for the seventh consecutive victory.
“We want to write a script for someone often,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “One thing Reggie Jackson always told me is that he always felt like his bat – that was his pen. He could always change the narrative. He could always write the final story.”
Rodón is 8-2 with a 3.08 ERA, striking out 71 and walking 20 in 73 innings with an opponent’s .217 batting average. The 31-year-old lefty has 39 strikeouts on sliders, 24 on fastballs, six on changeups and two on cutters.
“All his proposals were effective today, so it wasn’t something he did. They were all working. I thought they played well with each other,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We were swinging a little bit before we knew what he was bringing.”
Rodón struggled in his first spring training appearance last year and was diagnosed with a left forearm strain. He was slowed by back tightness in April, got a shot on May 9, and didn’t resume bullpen sessions until May 29.
After three games in the minor leagues from June 20 to July 1, Rodón made his Yankees debut on July 7 and lost his first three starts. He finished 3-8 with a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts, the lasting image of his season finale in Kansas City on September 29. Rodón allowed all eight batters he faced to reach base and eventually score in the 12-5 loss.
When pitching coach Matt Blake came off the bench in an attempt to get him on the right track, the two exchanged a few words before Rodón turned his back on Blake and gestured for him to return to the bench, even though the coach was still talking.
“Obviously, I was very frustrated with my performance and even the attitude I had coming out of the season,” Rodón said. “It made me hungrier at the start of the off-season. All I want to do is win and I want to perform well for my teammates. I don’t want to disappoint my teammates.”
They tried to keep their spirits up.
“It’s not some magical thing that you can say makes everything better,” Yankees ace Gerrit Cole said. “I think it’s just the everyday aspect of connecting with him on a human level.”
Rodón had a normal spring training this year before his 10th major league season, making five starts and pitching 19 1/3 innings. He didn’t make a decision in the first two games of the season, then started to find his rhythm.
“Everyone still knew the guy we hired was still there. I just had to be a little patient,” said closer Clay Holmes. “There was still a little bit of that confidence deep down.”
Since allowing seven runs in a loss at Baltimore on May 2, Rodón has a 2.48 ERA, part of a Yankees team that leads the major leagues with a 2.79 ERA.
“You go through times in your career where you get paid for lunch,” Boone said, “but that doesn’t have to be the end of the story, especially when you have skills like Carlos. And to his credit – last year was not good at all. but he started working to make sure he put himself in a great position to have a chance to be successful.”
___
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
