Carlos Rodon struggles as Yankees fall to Red Sox, 8-4

The Yankees could not capitalize with runners in scoring position while Carlos Rodon struggled in an 8-4 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday night at Fenway Park.

Here are the takeaways…

-Rodon was roughed up early against the Red Sox, allowing five earned runs in the first two innings as Boston teed off on the left-hander. He allowed six of his seven hits in those innings, including four doubles and two walks as he put the Yankees in a 5-2 hole after two.

While things looked ugly early, Rodon did settle down and managed to get through the fifth inning and allowed just one more hit the rest of the way. He finished with seven strikeouts but the damage was already done.

-The Yankees had plenty of chances to get back into the game but failed to take advantage of them. In the fifth inning, they loaded the bases with one out for Alex Verdugo. But the ex-Red Sox outfielder could not enact more revenge on his former team and instead grounded into a force out at home plate.

Giancarlo Stanton was up next but the Yankees slugger struck out, swinging at three pitches out of the zone.

The Yankees loaded the bases again in the eighth with one out for DJ LeMahieu, who hit a soft grounder to shortstop for a force out at second that brought in a run to make it a 6-4 game. Anthony Volpe followed but could not capitalize as he popped out to right field to end the inning.

–Juan Soto reached base three times, including a solo home run in the seventh inning that barely made it over the Green Monster in left-center field. It was initially ruled off the wall but was quickly overturned on a replay review that it was a home run.

-LeMahieu, who got the night off on Friday and has struggled since returning to the IL, picked up two more RBIs with an opposite-field bloop single in the second inning.

Game MVP: Jarren Duran

The Red Sox outfielder set the tone for this one with a leadoff double and finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored in the 8-4 Boston victory.

Highlights

What’s Next

The Yankees and Red Sox wrap up their three-game series on Sunday at Fenway Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

Marcus Stroman (6-2, 2.82 ERA) takes the mound for the Yanks while Kutter Crawford (2-6, 3.47) gets the start for Boston.