The New York Yankees didn't have the ideal series against the Milwaukee Brewers, though there was certainly some excitement in the series out in Wisconsin.
The Yankees, who are now two games back in the American League East, are 26-16 on the year and, statistically, have been the best team in the American League with a plus-72 run differential.
To make matters more exciting, the Yankees have started to get a bit healthier and called up one of their top prospects over the weekend in Spencer Jones. Jones had an opportunity to play for New York this weekend, while left-hander Carlos Rodon also made his return after offseason surgery.
Rodón wasn't bad by any means for his first start, but he didn't sound too happy with how he threw the baseball. Others in the Yankees organization did, however.
"I thought overall his stuff was good," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, per ESPN. "His fastball ticked up, being up here. I thought he had a really good changeup and some good sliders to get some swing-and-miss."
Rodon admitted he was a bit juiced up in his first start, which ended with him throwing 4.1 innings. However, he was more upset about the five walks, as he understands that he needs to find the zone if he wants his team to win.
“Definitely was hyped up a little bit,” said Rodon, who struck out four, three on sliders. “Obviously need to be better in the aspect of attacking the zone and getting ahead quick. Some stuff to work on…
“None of that happens if I get ahead and get guys out,” said Rodón, who was not entirely sure why he struggled with his command. “Just a little quick in the delivery, a little forward as I’m releasing the ball, so trying to make the adjustment and pour it in [the strike zone]. Obviously that didn’t work. Just got to be better.”
Frankly, while I understand that the Yankees aren't happy about losing a game, I think it's much more important that they were able to get Rodon back, and he looked healthy.
He's going to have some struggles early on, as that's part of the game, but as long as his arm feels healthy, they should be in a good spot.