Left-hander Carlos Rodón delivered seven scoreless innings and Devin Williams narrowly escaped a ninth-inning rally as the New York Yankees secured a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.
Rodón (7-3), who entered the game with the league’s lowest opponent batting average among qualified pitchers, held the Angels to five hits while striking out 10. He did not issue a walk and finished with 105 pitches, striking out Chris Taylor with a runner in scoring position to conclude his outing. According to consensus betting lines, the Yankees, who entered the game as -145 favorites, have now won four consecutive games and 15 of their last 19, maintaining a seven-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East standings.
Williams, who had not recorded a save since April 17 and was removed from the closer role in May due to inconsistency, was called upon in the ninth with a three-run lead. The right-hander allowed a solo home run to Yoán Moncada, marking the end of a 16-inning scoreless streak for the Angels in the series. Following Moncada’s homer, Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo added singles to place runners on the corners with one out. Ward then scored on Jo Adell’s fielder’s choice before Williams induced a foul pop-up from pinch-hitter Logan O’Hoppe to seal the win and register his fifth save of the season.
The Yankees’ offense provided early support with solo home runs from Ben Rice and Oswald Peraza. Anthony Volpe added an RBI single in the fifth inning, capitalizing on a misplay by the Angels infield to give New York a 3-0 lead. Rice’s home run marked his second in as many weeks, while Peraza continued a stretch of improved production, posting his third extra-base hit in five games after a prolonged slump.
Despite a quality start, Tyler Anderson (2-2) took the loss for the Angels. The veteran left-hander allowed one unearned run across six innings, giving up five hits and striking out four. The Angels, who recently saw an eight-game winning streak come to an end, have dropped four straight and scored only five total runs during that span.
New York’s starting rotation continued its dominant form, with Rodón’s effort contributing to a stretch in which Yankees starters have held opponents to one run or fewer in 22 of their last 39 games. The team’s starting ERA 2.54 during that span leads Major League Baseball.
The series concludes Wednesday, with New York sending right-hander Clarke Schmidt (1-2, 4.58 ERA) to the mound. Los Angeles will counter with left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (1-4, 3.17 ERA). The Yankees will travel to Los Angeles for a highly anticipated series at Dodger Stadium beginning Friday night.