BALTIMORE, MD — The Yankees once again will be without left-hander Max Fried in their starting rotation, this time a 15-day injured stint due to a bone bruise in his throwing elbow. Manager Aaron Boone believes the 32-year-old won’t be lost for the season and will rebound from this latest setback.
It has been that type of year for the starting rotation. Fried (4-4, 2.81 ERA) was out for extended time before this injury and so was left-hander Carlos Rodón (4-2, 3.22 ERA).
A strength of this Yankees team (70-55) as proven over their first 125 games is the pitching in their continued quest to catch the Rays for first place in the AL East – Image Credit: Alan Bautista/Latino Sports
Nonetheless, the Yankees have managed to continue to deal with adversity. Resembling parts of his previous Cy Young Award success after recovering from Tommy John surgery is Gerrit Cole (6-6, 3.32 ERA), while Cam Schlittler’s at the top of the 2026 AL Cy Young race with Toronto’s’ Dylan Cease.
The rotation overall, posting the best ERA in the Majors (3.38), ranks first in strikeouts amongst AL teams, and are third in MLB. And the pitching staff as a whole, leading baseball with a 3.26 ERA, have allowed three runs or fewer in 16 of their last 25 games.
Earlier on Tuesday as Carlos Rodón returned from the injured list, Max Fried was placed on the 15-day IL due to a bone bruise in his left elbow – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
A three game series this week here in Baltimore with the Orioles starting up Tuesday night and Rodón made his 10th start of the season—his first since June 28th at Boston after sustaining left elbow inflammation that resulted in a second IL stint. Boone said the 33-year-old Cuban-American southpaw would work a limited amount of innings as his pitch count was on watch.
But it was like Rodón, a two-time LatinoMVP Pitcher of the Year, never was hindered with the elbow. His recovery to return was quicker than expected and with the Yankees offense struggling to score runs, the pitching will keep them in ballgames.
The only damage on Carlos Rodón Tuesday night in Baltimore was from Coby Mayo who hit his 17th home run of the season in the third inning – Image Credit: Alan Bautista/Latino Sports
Except for a third inning Coby Mayo homer to left on a 2-0 slider which was the only damage, Rodón in four innings allowed two hits, walked two, and struck out four on 66 pitches, 39 for strikes.
The bullpen took over and the Yankees got the 3-1 win, another tight one at Camden Yards.
The Yankees improved to 70-55 on the year with their latest 3-1 win coming Tuesday night in Baltimore against the O’s – Image Credit: Alan Bautista/Latino Sports
Providing that boost with Fried out for an undetermined amount of time, Boone said about Rodón: “His fastball was there, had life to it, and he flagged some pretty good sliders. I thought stuff-wise, he threw the ball well. Gave us four strong innings. I wasn’t going over (the pitch count), 65 was the number. Little wiggle room there. To give us four strong innings and hold them to one run set us up to win that game.”
And that is the strategy. As long as Rodón is healthy and slowly provides enough innings, the Yankees can take their time with Fried. Rodón was informed there was a need to place him back in the rotation and believed it was the right time.
After Tuesday’s 3-1 Yankees win, Carlos Rodon said in the postgame: “I was able to compete on a limited pitch count, we were able to get a win and that was good. I would have liked to fill up the zone a little bit more and get ahead.” – Image Credit: Alan Bautista/Latino Sports
“It’s good to be back,” he said. “Just to be able to contribute and compete with the guys, it’s fun. A couple of days ago, we were trying to figure out what we’re going to do going into this next start. We were on the fence of going back to make another rehab start just to get the pitch count up but I guess there was a need and I was available to fill that need so it was good.”
And Rodón got the early run support because Trent Grisham continued his torrid pace at the plate. He homered in the third for his 17th of the year and drove in all three Yankees runs. The 29-year-old outfielder, who struggled throughout 2026, is now the Yankees’ consistent hitter in the leadoff spot.
In the month of August, Trent Grisham has sparked it to another at the plate, hitting .281 with a .989 OPS – Image Credit: Alan Bautista/Latino Sports
“He’s really kind of got locked back into where I feel like he’s having those good Grish at-bats every day,” Boone said. “Obviously he’s hitting for some power now over the last several as well.”
Excelling at working the count and finding the proper pitch to ignite something to an otherwise anemic Yankees offense, Grisham has 16 hits in 53 at-bats, six home runs and 12 RBI since August 3rd.
The Yankees have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games and now are just five games back from the Rays for the AL East division lead – Image Credit: Alan Bautista/Latino Sports
“Stay in the fight,” he said. “Don’t let circumstances dictate how I’m thinking. If I get out, I get out. If he makes his pitch, he makes his pitch.”
And if the rest of this Yankees lineup can find their swing, run production will be the big talking point going forward with their pitching strength.
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer and columnist at LatinoSports.com with coverage of MLB, boxing, and MLS – X: @Ring786, Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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