ANAHEIM -- The Yankees opened a six-game West Coast road trip on a sour note Monday night, dropping a 10-1 contest to the Angels.
Fresh off taking three of four from the Red Sox to lock up homefield advantage in a potential AL Wild Card Series matchup, New York missed an opportunity to gain ground on the division-leading Rays. The loss leaves the Yankees trailing Tampa Bay by 4 1/2 games in the American League East.
The story of the night centered on top pitching prospect Elmer Rodríguez. Rated as New York's No. 3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, the 23-year-old right-hander made his second Major League start since being recalled on Wednesday -- in his fourth stint with the Yankees this season -- to fill the rotation spot left by Ryan Weathers landing on the injured list.
After delivering six solid innings against the Astros last week, Rodríguez showed early flashes of that same electric repertoire on Monday. Cruising through the first three frames with just one run allowed, he reached as high as 98.1 mph with his sinker and racked up five strikeouts.
However, command issues derailed his evening in a bout of two-out chaos during the bottom of the fourth inning. After quickly retiring the first two batters, Rodríguez hit Oswald Peraza and Tyler Heineman with inside breaking balls. Zach Neto followed with a run-scoring single to break the ice, and Mike Trout blew the game open with a sharp two-run single to left field.
Rodríguez was lifted after 3 2/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on four hits and three walks over 91 pitches.
Offensively, the Yankees had their hands full against the Angels' Walbert Ureña, who scattered five hits over seven one-run innings, his only blemish a homer off the bat of Spencer Jones in the fifth.