The New York Yankees turned the tables on Jacob deGrom in a big way Tuesday night, securing a 7-4 victory over the Texas Rangers in the series opener at Yankee Stadium. After leaving rookie pitcher Elmer Rodríguez without run support in his MLB debut last week, the offense made sure history didn't repeat itself.
Things looked grim early for Rodríguez, who struggled with command in his first start. He walked Evan Carter and Corey Seager to open the game, and the Rangers jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. With runners on second and third, two outs, and a full count on Jake Burger, the rookie was on the verge of being pulled before throwing 40 pitches. But Rodríguez battled through, escaping the inning and lasting 4.2 frames in his second career start.
Once the Yankees got their bats going, there was no stopping them. Aaron Judge started the rally with a one-out double into the right-field corner, and Cody Bellinger followed with a scorched RBI double off the top of the right-field wall to cut the deficit to 3-1. The momentum carried into the second inning when Paul Goldschmidt, starting against a right-hander due to Ben Rice's hand injury, led off with a single. That set the stage for Ryan McMahon, who crushed his third home run of the season into the short porch in right field to tie the game at three.
The Yankees kept the pressure on deGrom, who suffered his worst outing of the season. Jazz Chisholm Jr. added a home run, and Bellinger chipped in with another RBI double as New York piled on the runs. For a team that has shown resilience all season, Tuesday night was another reminder that no lead feels safe when the Bombers are at the plate.
