For as much progress as Carlos Rodon made across his final seven starts of the season, when he collected a 2.68 ERA and resembled the pitcher the Yankees paid $162 million last year, all of that unraveled Tuesday night in Game 2 of the ALDS.
And it cost the Yankees by creating a deficit that a stagnant offense couldn’t erase during their 4-2 loss to the Royals that evened the series at a game each as its shifts back to Kansas City.
Giancarlo Stanton gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the third inning when his infield single allowed Gleyber Torres to score.
But in the fourth, Salvador Perez started the Royals’ burst with a homer before Tommy Pham, Garrett Hampson and Maikel Garcia all hit RBI singles to build the three-run lead.
Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton went a combined 2-for-10, but both of those hits were infield singles.
Jazz Chisholm led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run, but the Yankees failed to mount a comeback.
