Carlos Rodon does not have to worry about it, but he understands the agita an opposing pitcher feels when facing the Yankees lineup.
“You got [Anthony] Volpe starting off that lineup and it seems like every time he goes up there, it’s a five-, six-pitch at-bat,” Rodon said Sunday afternoon. “As a starter, that makes it tough to start the game. And you know he’s got the power to the right side of the field.
“Then you have to face Juan Soto, so you’re probably facing five or six pitches to Volpe and then the next at-bat, hopefully Volpe’s not on base and if he is, he’s probably stealing second. Then you have to face arguably one of the top-three hitters in the game in Juan Soto. You have to pitch smart to him. He doesn’t expand the zone. He’s aggressive on pitches in the zone and he does damage when he hits the ball.
“And then of course, you face the guy that hits a ton of home runs [Aaron Judge]. And then from there, the lineup keeps going. You got [Alex] Verdugo, another guy that sees a ton of pitches, doesn’t strike out. Then you have [Giancarlo] Stanton, who can hit a ball back at you at 120 [mph]. And then [Anthony] Rizzo, Rizzo stands on the plate, another guy that sees a ton [of pitches].”
And that’s just the top six.
Rodon took a second to breathe, a luxury not often afforded to opposing pitchers by the bottom of the Yankees’ order this season, as was the case again Sunday.
The eighth and ninth hitters, Jose Trevino and Jon Berti, combined to drive in five runs to fuel a 7-2 win as the Yankees finished off a sweep of the White Sox in The Bronx.
Trevino continued to swing a hot bat, delivering a two-run single that tied the game in the second inning before Berti hit his first home run of the year, visiting the short porch for a three-run shot that put the Yankees (33-15) up for good in the fourth.
“This lineup is pretty good — really good, actually, now that I think about it,” Rodon said after continuing his own strong start to the season with six innings of two-run ball. “I’m just glad I’m on this team.”
With their fourth sweep of the season, the Yankees have already equaled their 2023 total while their 33-15 start matches the 2022 team as their best start since 1998. They have won 13 of 15.
“Just contributions from everyone,” manager Aaron Boone said. “The whole roster’s contributing. Obviously a good weekend for us.”
For the first time in more than a week, a Yankee starter allowed more than one run, but Rodon was still plenty good enough despite being under the weather. The left-hander lowered his ERA to 3.27 in 10 starts, building on his bounce-back season against his former team.
The White Sox (14-33) took the lead briefly in the second inning, but it didn’t last long.
As they had the other two times they trailed during this seven-game stretch, the Yankees erased the deficit in the next half inning, this time thanks to the bottom of the order.
Rizzo and Gleyber Torres, the Nos. 6 and 7 hitters, both had two-hit games to set the table for both Trevino’s two-run single in the second and Berti’s three-run homer in the fourth off White Sox right-hander Chris Flexen.
“I think we take a lot of pride, being the ‘bottom of the lineup,’ ” said Trevino, now batting .343 with a .922 OPS over his last 23 games. “Just try to have good at-bats for the big boys. Get on base, let those guys do their job.”
“At the bottom of the order, you’re just trying to do what you can to help produce and flip the lineup over and get those guys up, because when those guys are going good, it’s fun to watch,” Berti added.
Judge added his 13th home run of the year, a two-run shot in the fifth inning that put the game on ice.
Entering Sunday, the Yankees’ seven through nine hitters had combined to post a .709 OPS this season, good for the fourth-best mark in the majors.
And the lineup is poised to get even deeper by next week, when DJ LeMahieu could make his season debut if his rehab assignment goes well.
“Obviously we’re getting big contributions and big production from our big boys right now,” Boone said. “Those are the guys that are going to carry you. But when you’re getting contributions from the support, up and down the lineup, that’s when you have a chance to have a special offense. We’re a long way from that, but we’re seeing the signs of that that are exciting.”
