C-Mac: Carlos Rodon facing narrative of coming up short in important starts

Carlos Rodon was knocked around on Saturday night in Boston, allowing seven hits and five runs over five innings in an 8-4 loss.

Rodon still holds a very strong 3.28 ERA on the season, but C-Mac says the narrative of the lefty struggling in big games or against AL East rivals is only going to grow stronger after Saturday’s flop.

“Even I have to admit, it is odd that the two games he’s struggled with are against division rivals,” C-Mac said. “He was awful on Saturday. He was awful. His two-strike pitches were just right down the middle. He would get ahead and just started making mistake after mistake.”

Rodon had been terrific all season, save for one clunker against the Orioles in Baltimore, the team that will be chasing the Yanks in the AL East all season. Yankee fans are still building their trust back in Rodon after last year’s disastrous debut season, so C-Mac says this narrative of Rodon coming up short in big moments is likely going to continue into October.

“Rodon is without question in the playoff rotation,” C-Mac said. “As good as he’s been all year, Baltimore was the most pressurized series of the season so far, and he failed in that start. And his first start in Fenway this year, he failed that start. So there’s gonna be a thought process of him under the spotlight…it’s gonna be ‘Hey, when the lights are bright and the game is at its most important, he hasn’t shown up.’”