The Yankees make two substitutions from their Opening Day lineup, swapping Austin Wells in for Jose Trevino behind the plate and swapping Carlos Rodón in for Cortes on the mound. Juan Soto and Aaron Judge look locked in batting second and third, the former with an RBI single, two walks, and a lead-saving outfield assist at home in the ninth and the latter doubling and walking. With the righty Javier on the mound, Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton swap places in the batting order, as do Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo. Volpe impressed in spring with a flatter bat path, an opposite field approach, and better discipline, and it showed last night, the sophomore shortstop walking three times and singling. Oswaldo Cabrera earns another start following his game-tying solo shot off Rafael Montero in the sixth.
The Astros return the same nine to the starting lineup. Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, and Alex Bregman are as fearsome a foursome as you’re likely to find atop any lineup, but it was the bottom of the order who did the damage last night. Chas McCormick drove in a pair, Yainer Diaz had three hits and an RBI, and Jake Meyers left the yard, so Rodón will need to be precise against that righty-heavy portion of the lineup.
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In the words of the captain, last night’s come from behind Opening Day victory was a Yankee classic. Propelled by their newest superstar Juan Soto, the Bombers rallied from down four to beat the Astros on their home turf, 5-4. Now it’s time for some Friday Night Baseball between these two adversaries.
Carlos Rodón’s first step in turning the page on his disastrous debut season starts tonight. He showed up to spring camp motivated, arriving early and with a noticeably slimmer physique. His fastball sat a few mph higher than last spring training, the performance of the pitch determining whether he can bounce back in 2024. His final two spring starts were a mixed bag, first with 5.2 no-hit innings followed by six runs (four earned) on seven hits in back-to-back outings against the Phillies. In 14 starts totaling 64.1 innings last season, Rodón was 3-8 with a 6.85 ERA (63 ERA+), 5.79 FIP, and 64 strikeouts.
Cristian Javier put himself into the preseason Cy Young conversation with a dazzling junior year in the bigs, putting up a 2.54 ERA (150 ERA+) with 194 strikeouts across 148.2 innings in 2022. What followed was a bit of a flop, the 26-year-old righty going 10-5 in 31 starts, with a 4.56 ERA and diminished strikeouts in his first campaign qualifying for the ERA title. That said, he’s been a thorn in the Yankees’ side his four big league seasons, with a 2.45 ERA and 33:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in five starts including 7 no-hit innings with 13 punchouts as part of a combined no-hitter at Yankee Stadium in 2022.
