NEW YORK – His white pinstripes caked with dirt, Carlos Rodón howled with frustration as he rose next to home plate in the fifth inning on Saturday at Yankee Stadium, having slapped a late tag on the sliding Adley Rutschman.
That play encapsulated the Yankees’ frustration on an afternoon when they couldn’t generate offense and their defense offered few favors, absorbing a 6-0 loss to the Red Sox in the first game of a separate-admission doubleheader.
“My job is to prevent runs, and the offense is going to take care of their business when they’re out there,” Rodón said. “For me, I’m just sticking in my lane, just trying to keep the game close or keep us ahead.”
The Yankees were behind all afternoon. Though Rodón seemed to settle in after surrendering Wilyer Abreu’s first-inning homer, New York managed just three hits against rookie left-hander Jake Bennett, who struck out seven without a walk over six scoreless frames.
Having knocked the Blue Jays and Astros for 24 runs over a three-game span earlier in the week, the Yanks’ bats have been nearly silenced by Boston’s pitching staff.
“We’ve scored one run in two games, so we have to be better than that,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Boone said Rodón threw the ball “really well” before tiring at the end – two runs over 4 2/3 innings in his third start since returning from a stint on the injured list for left elbow inflammation. His fielders let him down in the fifth.
Second baseman Amed Rosario committed a throwing error that moved Rutschman into scoring position.
After third baseman José Caballero’s throw pulled first baseman Paul Goldschmidt off the bag on Nick Sogard’s infield single, catcher Ali Sánchez saw a Rodón slider tick off his glove for a passed ball.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Sánchez said. “We don’t want to give up runs. We just need to do a better job on defense.”
Rodón said he missed his spot with the slider, which was supposed to be targeted at Eli White’s back foot.
“A better-executed pitch and there’s probably a different result there,” Rodón said.
Maybe not with the outcome of the game, though, because Bennett cruised. He defeated the Yankees for the second time this season (also June 27 at Fenway Park, when he fired 6 1/3 strong innings for his second big league win).
With runs in short supply, the Yankees tried to get aggressive in the fourth inning. With Rosario leading from second base, Heliot Ramos doubled over the head of a twisting Ceddanne Rafaela in center field.
Rosario held to see if the ball would be caught, then was waved home by third-base coach Luis Rojas. Rosario was tagged out after Sogard’s perfect relay from the lip of the outfield grass.
“When you’re looking at the center fielder,” Rosario said through interpreter Marlon Abreu, “the way he was reading the ball, he had a read on one side and then he turned the other way. That was the way I read it.
“ … It’s a difficult read there, but at the end of the day, I’ve just got to get myself in a better position. You’re trying to give yourself a chance there to score if you have an opportunity.”
Boone said he did not have an issue with Rojas’ send.
“One out and we’re struggling,” Boone said. “I think Rosie got stuck a little bit in a position where his momentum wasn’t good. It took two perfect throws. That’s a tough one in the moment.”
Boston poured it on late, knocking Ryan Yarbrough for four ninth-inning runs. The Red Sox lead the season series, 6-5, with two games remaining.
With both clubs battling for playoff position, that would prove meaningful if a tiebreaker is needed to determine home-field advantage in a postseason series. Last year, New York hosted Boston in a three-game American League Wild Card Series, which the Yankees won.
“We played poorly today. Simple as that,” Boone said. “We’ve got to turn the page in a hurry here and go out and try to grab one of these doubleheader games today, but we need to play better. And part of that is offense.”