Carlos Rodón burned by two-out hits, Yankees bats go quiet in shutout loss to Tigers

Two-out trouble proved to be Carlos Rodón’s undoing.

Rodón surrendered four two-out runs in the New York Yankees’ 4-0 loss in Detroit on Saturday in what was the left-hander’s worst outing in more than a month.

The 31-year-old Rodón had won his previous four starts, but the Tigers made him labor throughout an afternoon in which he struggled to put hitters away. Detroit fouled off 24 of his 90 pitches, or 26.7%.

Colt Keith’s two-out RBI single in the first inning came at the end of a seven-pitch at-bat, putting Detroit up, 1-0.

The Tigers added three more two-out runs in the second inning, during which Rodón threw 36 pitches, including 13 to Javier Baez. Baez fouled off seven two-strike offerings from Rodón — including four fastballs, a slider, a curveball and a changeup — before striking out.

Zach McKinstry followed with an RBI single on the very next pitch, and Andy Ibáñez added a two-run double later in the frame to put Detroit up, 4-0.

In the third inning, Rodón needed 11 pitches to retire rookie Dillon Dingler, who fouled off seven pitches.

Rodón’s day ended after 3 1/3 innings, during which he allowed those four runs, seven hits and a walk against five strikeouts. It was the shortest start of the year by Rodón, who entered Saturday with a 2.22 ERA since the All-Star break.

Rodón fell to 13-8 with a 4.34 ERA in what has been a resurgent season after a difficult first year with the Yankees in 2023. He had held hitters to a .191 average with two outs in his 24 starts before Saturday’s.

Offensively, the Yankees failed to get much going against Tigers rookie Kedier Montero, who began Saturday with a 5.76 ERA through his first 54 1/3 MLB innings.

The 24-year-old right-hander limited the Yankees to two hits and two walks over five-plus innings, repeatedly using a mid-90s fastball to challenge hitters and get ahead in counts.

Left-hander Tyler Horton then gave the Yankees a different look during his three innings, deploying a five-pitch mix that prominently featured a cutter, sinker and four-seam fastball.

The top six hitters in the Yankees’ lineup combined to go 1 for 22 with three walks, with Aaron Judge’s ninth-inning double accounting for the lone hit from that group. The Yankees finished with four hits, only two of which left the infield.

The loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Yankees, who beat the Tigers in Friday night’s series-opening 3-0 victory at Comerica Park behind Gerrit Cole’s first scoreless start of the season.

For the final game of their three-game series, the Yankees (73-51) and Tigers (60-64) are set to travel to Williamsport, Pa., where they’re scheduled to take part in MLB’s annual Little League Classic at Historic Bowman Field on Sunday night.

Marcus Stroman (8-6, 4.01 ERA) is in line to start for the Yankees, while the Tigers will send ace Tarik Skubal (14-4, 2.53 ERA) to the mound.

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