KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Carlos Rodón threw a shutout in the seventh inning in his return to the mound, where he hit his low point last September, winning his seventh straight game and leading the New York Yankees over the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Monday night. .
Juan Soto returned to the Yankees lineup after missing a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers because of inflammation in his left forearm. He was 1-for-3 with one run and one walk as a designated hitter.
“I got all my treatment done this morning and went to the cages making sure everything was OK and it worked out fine,” Soto said. “I have seen a lot of improvement. It’s definitely not going away anytime soon.”
AL-best New York (47-21) won for the 10th time in 13 games and improved to 15-1 against the AL Central. Aaron Boone earned his 556th victory, tying him with Billy Martin for seventh among Yankees managers.
After arriving in Kansas City at 3 a.m. following a Sunday night game in the Bronx, the Yankees gave Aaron Judge his first game this season and rested on Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton.
Rodón (9-2) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings, giving up Freddy Fermin’s RBI single in the seventh. He has a 2.93 ERA in 14 starts.
Bobby Witt Jr. had an RBI single in the eighth off Ian Hamilton.
Michael Tonkin worked around a walk in the ninth for his second big league save and first since last year with Atlanta. Yankees closer Clay Holmes has pitched three of the previous four days.
A 34-year-old outfielder who made his major league debut in 2013, Tonkin was cut by Minnesota and the New York Mets (twice) in April.
“The first month wasn’t ideal, but to be here now is worth it,” said Tonkin, who has increased his use of his two-seam fastball and slider. “It’s good to get into a rhythm and get comfortable and be in a position where I feel like I’m not afraid of getting a tap on the shoulder after every game.”
In the final start of his first season with the Yankees, Rodón allowed all eight batters he faced to reach base last September 29 in a 12-5 loss that dropped him to 3-8 with a 6.85 ERA in 14 matches.
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 to Blake and gestured for him to return to the bench, even though the coach was still talking. Rodón blamed himself for feeling frustrated with his performance.
“I knew this game was coming up and it was on the calendar and I wanted to show up and give my team the best chance to win after leaving here last year because of what happened and not pitching well,” Rodón said. “I tried to release it early on, but it’s hard to get it out of my head. It wasn’t just a start. It was the culmination of the whole year of 2023 – it wasn’t that good, so it definitely motivated me.”
Alex Verdugo hit a go-ahead single in a two-run first on a grounder that hit the glove of a diving Witt in the shortstop hole. Verdugo scored on DJ LeMahieu’s safety squeeze against Seth Lugo (9-2), one of the Yankees’ three sacrifices.
Jose Trevino increased the lead to 4-0 with a two-run single in the fourth that followed Jahmai Jones’ groundout.
Lugo gave up four runs on eight hits in seven innings and lost for the first time since April 21 after going 6-0 in eight starts. He has allowed nine runs in his last two starts, increasing his ERA from 1.72 to 2.36.
“I thought I threw the ball well,” Lugo said.
Kansas City has lost nine of 14 after an eight-game winning streak.
Dan Altavilla, a 31-year-old right-hander hailing from Triple-A Omaha, pitched a perfect eighth for the Royals in his first major league appearance since April 16, 2021, for San Diego.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: RHP Gerrit Cole (right elbow inflammation) is scheduled to begin his third minor league rehabilitation on Friday.
Royal members: RF Hunter Renfroe broke his left big toe when he hit two curveballs in the third inning. He played the field in the fourth, but was pulled early in the fifth. … RHP Michael Wacha (broken left foot) will throw a bullpen Tuesday. … 2B Michael Massey (sprained lower back) threw swings and threw catch in his first day of baseball activities since leaving a game on May 24.
NEXT
RHP Marcus Stroman (5-2, 3.04 ERA) starts Tuesday for the Yankees and RHP Brady Singer (4-2, 2.76) for the Royals.
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