Juan Soto homers twice, Carlos Rodon dazzles in Yankees’ 9-1 win over Rays

The Yankees earned a split of their four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays, winning on Monday by a score of 9-1.

Here are the key takeaways…

–Carlos Rodon had struggled mightily in his last six starts, posting a 9.67 ERA as the Yankees went 0-6 in those games. But the lefty was locked in on Monday afternoon, striking out five without allowing a hit over his first 4.0 innings of work.

Rodon ended up turning in an ace-like performance, striking out a season-best 10 hitters over 7.0 innings of work. He allowed just one earned run on a pair of hits, turning in a much-needed dominant performance.

-It was a good sign for the Yankees to see someone other than Aaron Judge and Juan Soto providing some power (though we’ll come back to Soto in a moment). In the bottom of the second, youngsters Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe went back-to-back off of Zack Littell, giving the Yanks a 2-0 lead. It was the seventh homer of the season for both players, and Volpe’s first home run since May 16.

–Gleyber Torres, who had a rough day on Sunday by going 0-for-4 with a fielding error, was out of Monday’s lineup, while the scuffling DJ LeMahieu was back in the starting nine, hitting ninth. LeMahieu responded in a big way, hitting his first home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth, extending the Yankees’ lead to 5-1.

-Of course, Soto also had to get in on the fun, demolishing a solo home run down the line in right in the seventh, and then adding another three-run blast in the eighth to break the game wide open. Soto’s blasts were the Yankees’ fourth and fifth of the game, giving the Rays a taste of their own medicine after Tampa had homered four times in each of the last two games.

-The Yankees broke out for 15 hits in this one, including three from Wells, who also scored a pair of runs. Soto, Wells, Volpe, and Oswaldo Cabrera all had multi-hit performances for the home team.

Who was the game MVP?

Rodon was outstanding on the mound, but Soto gets the honors for his two home runs, four RBI, and three total hits.

Highlights

Upcoming schedule

The Yankees welcome the Mets to the Bronx for the latest edition of the Subway Series.

Luis Gil will face Jose Quintana on Tuesday night, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.