Carlos Rodón pitches 6 strong innings and Yankees hit 4 homers in a 15-3 rout of Brewers

By JIM HOEHN, Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — MILWAUKEE (AP) — Carlos Rodón pitched two-hit, one-run ball through six innings and the New York Yankees hit four home runs in a 15-3 rout of the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night.

Alex Verdugo had a three-run homer in the first inning. Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo added two-run shots in the sixth that put New York up 11-1. It was Judge’s fifth homer of the season and Rizzo’s fourth.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run homer, his sixth, in the ninth off infielder Owen Weaver, who pitched the final two innings.

Rodón (2-1) allowed a solo homer in the first to Rhys Hoskins and a leadoff double in the sixth inning to Joey Ortiz. The 31-year-old lefty struck out eight and walked one. Luke Weaver tossed two scoreless innings. Milwaukee got two runs in the ninth off catcher Jose Trevino, who threw 11 of his 18 pitches for strikes.

“It’s always easy when the offense is firing like that,” Rodón said. “Getting an early lead I can just go right at the zone and get guys out. Hat’s off to them to get guys across the plate. Defensively, we played great. A good game overall.”

Rodón has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his six starts, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he still has room to improve.

“He’s not one-dimensional,” Boone said. “He’s got different ways of getting you out, depending on what he’s got that day. He can make adjustments. What I liked today, I thought as the game went on, the stuff ticked up and he continued to get sharper and a little bit better.”

New York posted season highs of 15 runs and 19 hits in snapping a two-game skid.

“As hard as it is in this league to score runs, and as good as the pitching is, to have a night like that, definitely is nice,” Boone said. “Hopefully little things that unlock and get a few guys going even more, but a really strong performance over all.”

Joe Ross (1-3) allowed seven runs, six earned, on eight hits, needing 99 pitches to get through five innings. He struck out five, walked three and hit a batter.

“He certainly wasn’t himself, as well as he’s pitched the first four times,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He hung in there and gave us five innings. It wasn’t perfect. That’s going to happen. I still thought there were some positives in there. Twenty-six games in and that’s the first time we haven’t had the winning run at the plate in the ninth inning.”

Verdugo staked the Yankees to a 3-0 lead with his fourth homer. Anthony Volpe was hit by a pitch to open the game and Juan Soto walked. After Judge struck out, Verdugo lined the first pitch 389 feet to right center.

The Brewers got one back in the bottom half on Hoskins’ sixth homer.

New York capitalized on Ross’ command issues for three more runs in third. Judge and Stanton walked and Rizzo reached on an infielder dribbler to load the bases with one out. Gleyber Torres, who had two RBI in his first 27 games, cleared the bases with a double to the gap in right-center, giving New York a 6-1 lead.

The Yankees made it 7-1 with an unearned run in the fifth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: RHP Ian Hamilton was expected to be available Saturday after being relegated to emergency duty only Friday, manager Aaron Boone said. Hamilton experienced soreness after playing catch Friday.

Brewers: LHP DL Hall, on the 15-day IL (sprained left knee) is playing catch and doesn’t have to be shut down completely. There is no timetable for his return.

BREWERS MOVE

Recalled RHP Janson Junk from Triple-A Nashville, optioned LHP Jared Koenig to Nashville. Junk relieved to open the seventh inning Saturday.

UP NEXT

Right-hander Marcus Stroman (2-1, 2.70) will be making his sixth start for the Yankees on Sunday. The Brewers counter with right-hander Tobias Myers (0-1, 1.80), making his second big league start.

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