Brewers Sweep Yankees in Rodón's Season Debut

Carlos Rodón returned to the mound for the New York Yankees on Sunday, but his season debut proved shaky as command issues contributed to a 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field, completing a three-game series sweep.

The 33-year-old left-hander, reinstated from the 15-day injured list after offseason left elbow surgery, pitched 4.1 innings. He allowed three earned runs on two hits, walked five batters, hit one and struck out four, posting a 6.23 ERA for the outing. Rodón threw 78 pitches, with only 42 strikes, as his struggles peaked in the fourth inning. The Yankees led 2-0 entering the frame, but Rodón issued back-to-back walks to William Contreras and Gary Sánchez on eight straight balls, then hit Andrew Vaughn with a pitch to load the bases. Although Contreras was thrown out at home, Garrett Mitchell followed with bases loaded again, and the inning ended with the Yankees trailing 3-2. Reliever Jake Bird escaped further damage in the fifth with two inherited runners.

Rodón kept Milwaukee scoreless through three innings before the unraveling. "Obviously, I need to be better in the aspect of attacking the zone and getting ahead quick. Some stuff to work...