Carlos Rodon, Yankees bullpen hold Padres to three hits in 5-1 win to clinch series

· Yahoo Sports

In the second game of their three-game road series against the San Diego Padres (74-68), the Yankees (81-61) prevailed with a 5-1 victory.

Here are the takeaways...

-- The Yankees' offense chased Padres starter Robbie Ray early. The veteran southpaw recorded just seven outs and allowed five earned runs on five hits. In the second inning, Spencer Jones got things going with an RBI double, Ray walked in a run when Paul Goldschmidt got the better of him in the at-bat, and Cody Bellinger drove in two with a bases-loaded single. 

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The following inning, George Lombard hit a sacrifice fly to score Ben Rice, before San Diego brought in right-hander Griffin Canning to face Austin Wells with the bases juiced and one man out. The Padres escaped the jam as Wells grounded into a double play.

-- Carlos Rodon brought his best stuff tonight. Apart from a solo homer allowed to potential future Hall of Fame third baseman Manny Machado in the fifth inning, which cut New York's lead to 5-1, the lefty hurler was largely spotless. Rodon completed five full innings and threw 89 pitches, allowing just two hits and striking out seven Padres batters. 

-- In relief of Rodon, four Yankees relievers -- Carson Fulmer, Brent Headrick, John Schreiber, and Tim Hill -- protected the lead the rest of the way with flying colors. Hill was the only pitcher of the quartet to allow a hit, surrendering a harmless single to Austin Hays in the ninth inning before bouncing back to seal the 5-1 win.

Game MVP: The pitching staff

Holding a lineup with Fernando Tatis Jr., Machado, and Jackson Merrill to one run on just three hits is worthy of praise. The bullpen in particular continues to show why it ranks among the best in MLB.

Highlights

What's next

The Yankees conclude their West Coast road trip with the final game of their three-game set against the Padres on Sunday, with first pitch set for 4:10 p.m.

Gerrit Cole (3.29 ERA, 1.11 WHIP in 104.0 IP) is set to take the mound for the Yankees and the Padres will send out former Yankee Michael King (3.11 ERA, 1.17 WHIP in 162.0 IP).

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