New York Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox: Carlos Rodón vs. Chris Flexen

The Yankees keep on rolling with Juan Soto sending two moonshots out of the yard and Luis Gil striking out 14 to catalyze their 6-1 victory yesterday. Today, they look to make it two sweeps in a row against AL Central opponents and seven wins on the trot.

Carlos Rodón gave up a leadoff home run to Ryan Jeffers his last time out and then followed with six scoreless innings in the Yankees’ series opening victory over the Twins. The changeup has been a real weapon for him and Nestor Cortes of late, though he may not feature it as much against a lineup with four lefties. In nine starts, Rodón is 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA (119 ERA+), 4.41 FIP, and 49 strikeouts in 49 innings.

A neat storyline for Rodón is that this will actually be the first time he’s ever pitched against the White Sox, who made him the No. 3 overall draft in 2015 out of NC State. The lefty fell short of expectations for several years due in part to injuries, and he was non-tendered in December 2020 before returning to the organization on a one-year deal for 2021. That was the year it finally all came together for Rodón, who spun a no-hitter in April and recorded a 2.37 ERA, 2.65 FIP, and 0.957 WHIP in 24 starts. He signed with the Giants after the season and hasn’t had a chance to face the Pale Hose in the time since he left, until today (though most of his old teammates are now gone with Chicago’s collapse).

Chris Flexen was one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball last year, his 6.86 ERA and -0.5 fWAR both third-worst among starters with at least 100 innings pitched. He has turned that around some through the early going by cutting his home run rate in half, in part by spreading out his pitch selection. He’ll throw the kitchen sink, using a four-seamer, cutter, curveball, changeup, and slider at or above ten percent of the time. In nine appearances (seven starts) in 2024, Flexen is 2-3 with a 4.46 ERA (90 ERA+), 4.29 FIP, and 30 strikeouts in 40.1 innings.

The Yankees stick with the same lineup from yesterday’s win. They became the first team this season to have three players with double-digit home run tallies, Aaron Judge leading the way with 12 followed by Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton with 11, tying each other with three combined yesterday afternoon. Jon Berti has been getting a run of games at third since returning from a groin injury.

The White Sox make lineup two changes to their lineup, bringing in Zach Remillard to replace Nicky Lopez at second base. Martín Maldonado returns behind the plate, moving Korey Lee to DH, Eloy Jiménez to right field, and Gavin Sheets to the bench.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 1:35 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, NBC Sports Chicago, MLB Network (out-of-market)

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Online stream: YES App

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