Yankees complete late rally to tie Phillies, but Carlos Rodon allows six runs in final spring tuneup

The Yankees rallied late to tie the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-6, on Saturday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Stadium.

Here are some takeaways…

– Carlos Rodon took the mound for the Yanks looking to build off his terrific 5.2 no-hit innings his last time out against this same Phillies club, but he struggled early on this time. Philadelphia jumped on the southpaw in the first as Whit Merrifield cracked a one-out double, and after stealing third base, he scored on a Bryce Harper sacrifice fly to center.

The Phillies struck again in the second, as a Bryson Stott RBI single and a Johan Rojas run-scoring groundout resulted in two more marks on the board. The lefty rebounded nicely after that, piecing together a perfect seven-pitch inning, but he closed his outing by allowing two more runs in the fourth.

Overall, Rodon allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits while walking one, striking out two and throwing 82 pitches across four innings. The positive is that he stayed healthy throughout camp, but he pitched to a 4.66 ERA across his five outings. 

– Aaron Judge played five innings in center field in his third consecutive game since returning from an abdominal injury, and he made a handful of putouts, including a nice catch ranging back on a Bryce Harper sacrifice fly. The All-Star outfielder has struggled for the most part at the plate this spring, but he finished 1-for-3 with a hard-hit double in this one.

– Oswaldo Cabrera continued his strong end of the spring bid for a bench role, as he crushed a two-run home run to get the Yankees on the board in the bottom of the fourth. The left-handed hitting 25-year-old also stole a base and he’s gone deep twice over his last five games.

– With DJ LeMahieu likely to being the season on the injured list due to a significant bone bruise, Gleyber Torres got the start in the leadoff spot, and he reached base twice with a walk and a single and he scored one of the Yanks’ three runs in the bottom of the sixth.

– Lefty Nick Ramirez struck out three and allowed just one hit across three scoreless innings, followed by Ron Marinaccio who struck out one in a perfect inning of his own.

– Oscar Gonzalez, who was claimed off waivers from the Guardians this offseason, came through with a clutch RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to help the Yankees complete the comeback and secure the tie. 

Highlights

Upcoming schedule

The Yankees have a split-squad doubleheader on Sunday afternoon with both games starting at 1:10 p.m.

Marcus Stroman gets the start against the Pirates while lefty Tanner Tully takes the ball against Robinson Cano and Diablos Rojos of the Mexican League in Mexico City.