Former NC State All-American pitcher Carlos Rodon picked up his second loss of the season on Monday in a duel against reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell of the Rays.
Rodon’s 111 pitches only got him through 4.2 innings, surrendering 4 earned runs. While walks haven’t been a problem through the first two games, they have been in the past, and they were on Monday, walking 5.
It wasn’t all bad for Rodon, striking out 9 (back-to-back). Fifty-five of his pitches went for strikes, including 20 for swinging strikes. Control was the thorn in Rodon’s side.
“Today we probably threw more sliders, but that’s what was working, and we had to go to it,” Rodon said.