The unit that was the backbone of the Yankees’ early-season dominance is beginning to emerge once again.
Carlos Rodon followed the lead of Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes and became the third straight Yankees starter to toss a scoreless outing Friday night.
And when Aaron Judge is doing Aaron Judge things, it is a highly successful combination.
Rodon tossed six shutout innings and Judge drilled his 49th home run of the season on the way to the Yankees’ third straight win, 3-0 over the Rockies in The Bronx.
Yankees starters have thrown 19 straight scoreless innings, blanking opponents in four of their last five starts, five of their last seven and six of their last nine.
In the process, the Yankees (76-53) maintained their 1 ¹/₂-game lead over the Orioles atop the AL East.
“It’s huge,” Judge said. “There was a little rough stretch there for a little bit, but guys are figuring it out and doing their thing. With the offense we have, if they go out there and give us a couple zeroes early and allow the offense to get working, good things are going to happen.”
Of course, good things also happen when Judge goes yard — Giancarlo Stanton, too, as the duo homered in the same game for the 11th time this season, the Yankees improving to 11-0 in those games.
After homering for the fifth time in his last four games, this one a solo shot that put the Yankees up 3-0 in the sixth inning, Judge is on pace for 62 home runs, which is the AL record he set in 2022.
“I’m kind of running out of words to say,” manager Aaron Boone said. “You’re witnessing greatness, you really are. He’s just kind of better than everyone.”
But as ridiculous of a season as Judge is putting together, not even the AL MVP favorite alone could snap the Yankees out of their summer funk, for which the rotation was largely responsible.
The Yankees’ rotation had an MLB-low 2.77 ERA through June 14, at which point the team was an MLB-best 50-22.
From June 15-Aug. 9, a span during which the Yankees went 18-26, their rotation had the majors’ highest ERA at 6.26.
In 13 games since, though, Yankees starters have rediscovered their early-season form, with their 1.95 ERA good for the best in baseball in that stretch.
The opposing lineups have not exactly been daunting, but Yankees starters have held them to two or fewer runs in 10 of their last 13 starts.
“They’ve been grooving, giving us a great opportunity to win games,” Stanton said. “Getting comfortable, establishing their stuff early, it’s been good to watch.”
Rodon continued that strong run Friday by holding the Rockies (47-82) to four hits and one walk while striking out five. He rebounded from a tough last start — Saturday in Detroit, when he needed 90 pitches to record just 10 outs while giving up four runs — by allowing just one Rockie to touch third base all night.
“I think we do feed off each other,” Rodon said. “You don’t want to be the guy that gives up the run.”
Stanton got the scoring started in the fourth inning when he ripped his second home run in as many days, a solo shot to the opposite field for the 1-0 lead.
The Yankees made it 2-0 in the fifth inning when Anthony Volpe singled and eventually came in to score on a two-out fielding error by third baseman Ryan McMahon.
In relief of Rodon, the Yankees got scoreless innings of work from Luke Weaver, Jake Cousins and Clay Holmes, who worked around a leadoff walk to record his first save since blowing his 10th save Sunday in the Little League Classic.
“A lot of guys throwing the ball really well,” Boone said. “Ultimately, that’s what’s going to carry the day: You gotta pitch. I feel like we’re getting a lot of guys in good places and making real contributions, whether it’s starting the game or guys coming in out of the pen right now.”
