New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: Carlos Rodón vs. Jake Bennett

A 1-0 win is as nailbiting as it gets, but it’s still a win. The Yankees took the first round of this big four-game series last night, setting them up well for a good weekend. Hopefully they can do it in a less-stressful way, with two games against the Red Sox today and sending lefties to the hill in both of them.

Carlos Rodón does get the ball for the day half of today’s doubleheader, signaling a grumpy day for me. He’s on a three-win pace if he had been healthy all year, which is more than enough given he’s the fourth option in the rotation, but the aesthetic experience of him is far worse than the analytical. He’s only gone four innings his last two starts, despite allowing a single earned run in both, because his control has been rather spotty since coming off the IL (and he’s had a pitch count to consider). On a day where we’ll play two, let’s hope he figures out a bit of length and saves a bullpen that may be needed with Max Fried coming off the injured list himself. Rodón threw 76 pitches in his last outing, so that’s the baseline.

Before opening FanGraphs, I could have sworn Jake Bennett was an MLB: The Show create-a-player, but the 6-foot-6 lefty does seem to be a real person. Boston seems to run this pattern of large lefties who don’t strike many people out but somehow never give up home runs, and Bennett follows this archetype. I regret to inform Yankee fans we may see some repeats of last night given Bennett’s talents and the apparent inability of the Yankees to elevate contact against southpaws, but I also reserve the right to be surprised.

There are a couple changes to the lineup from last night, with Spencer Jones taking over in center field, Ali Sánchez behind the plate, and Amed Rosario starting at third and also batting third. I’m not sure any of those moves are necessarily upgrades from what the team had on Friday, but if they score more than one run it’s all gravy.

Rejoice for this game is back on normal channels.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY

First pitch: 1:05 pm ET

TV/Streaming: YES, NESN, MLB Network

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 – NYY | WEEI 93.7, WCCM 1490 AM (SP), WESX 1230 AM (SP) – BOS

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