New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: Jameson Taillon vs. Eduardo Rodriguez

The rollercoaster season that the Yankees have been on continued to descend yesterday in the Bronx, as the Bombers dropped the first game of this series to the rival Red Sox. It was a fairly non-competitive night, with Aaron Judge’s solo home run one of the lone highlights amidst a dominant performance from Boston’s pitching staff. The Yankees will hope to flip the script tonight in a pitching matchup that should feature some run support for both sides.

Jameson Taillon has been the weak link in the Yankees rotation, both when it was down on its luck and when it rebounded to become a central part of the team’s success. His 5.10 ERA stands in stark contrast to the rest of the staff, and even though there have been some underlying numbers that suggest Taillon’s got the potential to improve — his 10.38 K/9 in particular is promising — it doesn’t matter if he serves up the long ball and exits after four or five innings. There’s no time to turn things around like the present, so we’ll see if he can do so against a formidable lineup.

On the other side, Eduardo Rodriguez hasn’t had the ideal season. Rodriguez has battled back after heart complications from contracting COVID-19 cost him his season last year, and his early success showed a strong indication that he was fully back — he had a 3.52 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 23 innings of work in April. Unfortunately for him, he got hit hard in May, pitching to a 7.28 ERA in the month. He wasn’t particularly victimized by the long ball, either — batters just got to him early and often. He had only one start go beyond five innings, and in all but one start he allowed at least four runs. The Yankees have faced their fair share of struggling pitchers during this stretch and haven’t done much damage, but they’re faced with another opportunity to break that pattern tonight.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:15 p.m. EST

TV broadcast: FOX

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Online stream: MLB.tv

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