BALTIMORE — Carlos Rodon finally made the adjustments he needed to avoid a slump in the top of the first inning on Sunday.
But the left-hander still hasn’t quite pitched the way the Yankees expected him to.
Rodon gave up just two runs, but a high pitch count limited him to just four innings as the Yankees suffered a brutal 6-5 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards.
Rodon has relied too much on his fastball and slider early on recently, posting a 9.00 ERA through one inning on Sunday, and he diversified his pitches early against the Orioles.
The pitcher didn’t throw a fastball until his 12th pitch of the game, and threw 17 pitches in a 1-2-3 inning, with only four fastballs (eight sliders, three curves and two changeups).
“It was a little weird at first, but I just wanted to show that I can throw a slider, a curveball and I can throw a fastball slower,” Rodon said. “I’ve had some strikeouts on fastballs. [after] I just showed you how destructive that is.”
Sunday’s problems came over the next three innings, forcing the Orioles to throw 81 pitches between the second and fourth innings and 98 overall.
One of those came when Gunnar Henderson smashed a 1-2 slider over home plate for a two-run homer.
“Obviously I wanted to go longer with what I have, but they had some good at-bats and some long at-bats,” Rodon said. “I hope I can throw my curveballs in the zone better and get a lead and limit my pitch count.”
Jose Trevino was diagnosed with a Grade 2 quadriceps injury on Sunday and will be on the disabled list for at least a few weeks.
“It’s going to be a while,” manager Aaron Boone said.
The catcher, who was injured while sliding into home plate in the bottom of the ninth inning of Friday’s win, received a PRP injection on Sunday to aid in his recovery.
Meanwhile, the Yankees will have steady Austin Wells at catcher, but they will also likely have defensively-skilled Carlos Narvaez, who was called up to replace Trevino on Saturday.
Giancarlo Stanton won’t be returning to the Yankees lineup immediately after the All-Star break, but it may not be too far off.
The slugger, who has been sidelined for about four weeks since June 22 with a hamstring injury, has progressed to base-running and batting practice and Boone said he “nearly” could be ready to play when the Yankees open the second half of the season on Friday.
The club has yet to decide whether Stanton will go on a rehab assignment before returning.
The Yankees gave Scott Efros time to continue his recovery from Tommy John surgery and back surgery, allowing him to return from a rehab assignment Sunday, then reinstated him from the 60-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A.
Efros, who hasn’t pitched since the end of the 2022 regular season, made his ninth rehab appearance Sunday.
If healthy and able to pitch to his ability, Efros could provide a vital boost to the Yankees’ relief corps in the second half of the season.
The Yankees designated Cody Morris for allocation to make way for Efros on the 40-man roster.
The right-handed swingman, acquired in December in exchange for Esteban Florial, batted 4.25 at Triple-A.
The Yankees’ tentative starting rotation after the break will likely consist of Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman, Rodon and Luis Gil.
The reorganization allows Cole, who missed the first three months of the season, to make the most of the second half of the season, while allowing Gill, who has already thrown a career-high 102 1/3 innings, to get more rest.
After the game, the Yankees demoted infielder Jorbit Vivas to Triple-A.
The prospect was called up on Friday to replace J.D. Davis but did not play in any games as his MLB debut will have to wait.
Davis will be eligible to return from injured reserve at the start of the second half on Friday.
Orioles starter Dean Kremer hit Aaron Judge’s elbow with a 94 mph fastball during his first at-bat, which may have been retaliation for Clay Holmes’ hit of Heston Kierstad on Friday night. Either way, the hit caused no uproar from either dugout.
JT Brubaker, nearing the end of his rehab assignment after returning from Tommy John surgery, started Thursday and pitched one inning before exiting with an oblique muscle injury.
Boone believes it’s “not that serious,” but for now Brubaker is suspended and loses an option as a backup starter.
