MILWAUKEE (AP) — Carlos Rodón’s seven-month recovery from elbow surgery apparently didn’t do anything to hinder the New York Yankees left-hander’s velocity.
His ability to throw strikes remains a work in progress.
Rodón made his season debut Sunday and held the Milwaukee Brewers hitless for the first 3 2/3 innings while reaching a peak velocity of 97.7 mph. But he also walked five and hit a batter before leaving with one out in the fifth inning.
His fastball averaged 95.7 mph, up from 94.1 mph last year. Only 42 of the 78 pitches Rodón threw were strikes.
“Velo’s great, but when I’m not commanding the zone, it really doesn’t matter how hard I’m throwing – when you’re spraying it,” Rodón said after getting no decision in the Yankees’ 4-3 loss.
Rodón was pitching in the majors for the first time surgery Oct. 15 to remove loose bodies in his left elbow and shave a bone spur. His return got pushed back after he dealt with tightness in his left hamstring in late March.
That followed a 2025 season in which he went 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA and earned his third career All-Star Game selection. He may need some time to regain that form.
Rodón walked the leadoff batter in each of the first two innings but otherwise looked impressive while striking out four over the first three frames.
“I thought overall his stuff was good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “His fastball ticked up, being up here. I thought he had a really good changeup and some good sliders to get some swing-and-miss.”
Boone called the high walk total the “bugaboo” for Rodón. That proved costly in the fourth inning.
Rodón, 33, started that inning by walking William Contreras and Gary Sánchez and hitting Andrew Vaughn with a pitch, loading the bases. Garrett Mitchell brought home a run with a sacrifice fly before Rodón allowed a two-run, two-out single to Blake Perkins, who is hitting just .122 this season.
He left the game with two men on and one out in the fifth.
“It was fun being back out there,” Rodón said. “Obviously would have liked to perform better.”
Rodón’s return came on the final day of a disappointing weekend for the Yankees, who were swept for just the second time all season. Milwaukee’s Brice Turang ended the game with a walk-off homer off David Bednar.
Although the Yankees lead the American League in scoring, they totaled just six runs this weekend as Ben Rice went 0 for 13 in his return from a bruised hand that caused him to miss four games, Spencer Jones was 1 for 9 with five strikeouts in his first three big league hames.
The good news for the Yankees is that Rodón’s arrival should boost a starting rotation that already was perhaps the best in the major leagues.
Yankees starting pitchers entered Sunday with a league-best 3.01 ERA in 40 games. Counting Sunday's game, Yankees starters have allowed three earned runs or fewer in 19 of their last 22 outings.
Cam Schlitter (5-1) owns an MLB-leading 1.35 ERA to top a rotation that also has featured Max Fried (4-2, 2.91), Will Warren (4-1, 3.46) and Ryan Weathers (2-2, 3.03). The Yankees also have 2023 Cy Young Award winner and six-time All-Star Gerrit Cole working his way back from Tommy John surgery after missing the 2025 season.
New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon throws to the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodón throws to the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
WEST CALDWELL, N.J. (AP) — Jeeno Thitikul fought off one final challenge Sunday and pulled away with a pair of late birdies for a 3-under 69 to win the Mizuho Americas Open by four shots over Ruoning Yin, giving the Thai player her second LPGA Tour victory this year.
Thitikul was staked to a two-shot lead at the start of the final round. Yin managed to rally from four back to get within one shot.
The turning point came on the par-3 16th hole, a two-shot swing when Yin fell behind with a bogey, and Thitikul made her first birdie on the back nine. That made it a three-shot lead, and Thitikul added a birdie on the final hole at Mountain Ridge.
She also won the Honda LPGA Thailand earlier this year, and Thitikul now has nine career LPGA titles. This is her fourth season with multiple wins since joining the LPGA in 2022.
“It means a lot to me,” said Thitikul, who stated that her game hasn't felt right since returning from the Asian swing in March. “I don’t feel great with my performance, with my game, at all. But had a call with my coach earlier on the practice round and then went everything out of my head, which is really helping. ... Sometimes you don't try to fix things to be perfect.”
Yin shot a 69 to finish alone in second.
Celine Boutier, who played in the final group with Thitikul, had three bogeys and no birdies on the front nine to fall out of the chase. She shot 75 and tied for ninth.
Thitikul went into the year at No. 1 in the women's world ranking, and then won early in Thailand. But the Thai and everyone else has been left behind by Nelly Korda, who overwhelmed the field two weeks in a row to win The Chevron Championship for her third major and then in Mexico.
Korda did not play this week.
Thitikul becomes the fourth player with at least two wins this year, after a 2025 season in which it took until October before there was a multiple winner. The others are Hannah Green and Hyo Joo Kim, who went home this week and won a Korea LPGA event.
“I think all the players, including me, just really want to get better,” Thitikul said. “We've got a lot more talented players, new faces, and then everyone could win the tournaments which means the competition level, it's getting higher.
“I believe everyone just putting work in on the offseason to see the good result.”
Thitikul got off to a quick start with a pair of early birdies. Yin, one of her best friends on the LPGA, came charging back with four straight birdies on the front nine to go out in 31. But Yin's birdie on the par-5 eighth was the last one she made. Yin hit all 18 greens in regulation and missed only one fairway, but with a pair of bogeys on the back nine, she didn't get as much out of her round.
It was her fourth runner-up finish it just over a year.
“I just think something cool is going to happen. I just don’t know when,” Yin said. “Yeah, I mean, if I can be in contention every week like this week and like the Chevron week, I think it’s going to happen soon.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Hye-jin Choi, of South Korea, reacts after missing a putt on the 16th hole after the final round of the Mizuho Americas Open golf tournament, Sunday, May 10, 2026, in West Caldwell, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jeeno Thitikul, of Thailand, reacts after making a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the Mizuho Americas Open golf tournament, Sunday, May 10, 2026, in West Caldwell, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jeeno Thitikul, of Thailand, center, is sprayed with champagne after winning the Mizuho Americas Open golf tournament, Sunday, May 10, 2026, in West Caldwell, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jeeno Thitikul, of Thailand, poses for a picture with the trophy after winning the Mizuho Americas Open golf tournament, Sunday, May 10, 2026, in West Caldwell, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
