Elmer Rodríguez has been cruising in his past few starts at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and none have been better than Thursday’s dominance.
Rodríguez completed seven scoreless innings, including seven strikeouts and 13 whiffs, during a 5-1 win for his RailRiders over Lehigh Valley at Coca-Cola Park. The 22-year-old righty scattered just three hits and walked one on the night.
The Yankees’ No. 3 prospect worked a 1-2-3 first inning before he had to escape from some of his only trouble in the second. He had runners on first and second after a leadoff double and a walk, but he induced two groundouts and a strikeout to stay clean.
He also dealt with a pair of baserunners in the third after consecutive two-out singles, but a groundout ended the frame. Rodríguez then faced the minimum the rest of the way.
Of Rodríguez’s seven punchouts, four came on his curveball and three on his sinker, while he generated seven whiffs on the curve and six on the sinker. Rodríguez also allowed just three hard-hit balls (95 mph or higher exit velocity), two of which went for outs. Gabriel Rincones Jr.’s second-inning double was the lone hard-hit ball to result in a hit.
COMPLETE YANKEES PROSPECT COVERAGE
Rodríguez, who has made four starts for the big league Yankees this season, now owns a 2.63 ERA in 18 Triple-A starts this year. He’s also held opponents to two or fewer runs in each of his last four outings.