Carlos Rodón turned in his strongest outing since returning from the injured list while the offense continued its recent surge Friday night, leading the New York Yankees (35-22) to an 8-2 victory over the Athletics (27-30) in Sacramento.
The Yankees jumped on former teammate Luis Severino in the first inning. Aaron Judge drove home Ben Rice with an RBI single before Paul Goldschmidt broke the game open with a three-run homer to left field. Severino exited after the opening frame with right arm soreness, and New York kept the pressure on against the Athletics bullpen.
Rice added an RBI single in the second inning and Ryan McMahon connected for the 150th home run of his career in the third, extending the lead to 6-1. Rice later added his 17th homer of the season in the seventh inning and finished 3-for-5, falling a triple shy of the cycle.
Rodón had to navigate early trouble after surrendering a first-inning solo homer to Nick Kurtz and facing a jam in the second. The left-hander settled in from there, completing six innings while allowing one run on four hits and two walks. He struck out three and threw 93 pitches.
Judge finished with two RBI, while Jose Caballero contributed two hits and scored a run. New York collected 11 hits overall, and Fernando Cruz highlighted the bullpen effort by escaping a bases-loaded threat with an inning-ending double play in the seventh.
The Yankees continue their three-game series in Sacramento on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05 p.m. Ryan Weathers (2-2, 3.14 ERA) is expected to start against Athletics right-hander J.T. Ginn (2-3, 3.19 ERA).
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.