Carlos Rodon falls apart against Royals in all too familiar Yankees scene

��This was supposed to be a diffeꦑrent Carlos Rodon. 

The one that ไwas a dependable starter throughout his second season in The Bronx. 

Instead, the Yankees got something much closer to wha📖t they saw in Rodon’s first year with the team, as Rodon didn’t make it through the fourth inning in a 4-2 Game 2 loss in the ALDS against the Royals in The Bronx. 

Rodon’s Yankee postseꦫason career seemed to be getting off to an excellent start before he fell 🍌apart in the fourth. 

He struck out the side in orde𒁃r in the first, need✱ing just a dozen pitches, and he punctuated each whiff with an exclamation, spinning and yelling on the mound. 

That confidence was soon gone in an outing that ended wi𒁏th Rodon giving up four runs in 3 ²/₃ innings. 

In a scene all too familiar to Yankee fans, Rodon saw his s🔜tuff disappear✅ quickly, this time in a critical situation, as he allowed four runs in the top of the fourth after the Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third. 

Rodon looked dominant in the first two innings, striking out four and retiring six of the first seven batt🀅ers he faced before pitching around two hits in the third. 

But Salvador Perez led off the fourth with a booming hom🐼er to left on a hanging 2-0 slider to tie the game at 1-1 and things only got worse from there. 

Yuli Gurriel𓃲 followed with a single — yup, off a slider — and moved to second on a wild pitch. 

Tommy Pham put Kansas City ahead with a single to right-center off another poꦑor slider and after Rodon was on the verge of ending the inning without more damage with a strikeout of Hunter Renfroe, Rodon was burned again by a single to right off a slider by Garrett Hampson to make it 3-1 and end his night. 

Ian Hamilton entered and gave up an RBI ♍single to Garcia for the fo👍urth and final run of the inning. 

The final result was much diffe💟rent than the early going.&🔥nbsp;

The Yankees hoped the 31-year-old would follow his strong regular season, which he finished with a 2.20 ERA over his last five starts, with more effective🌟ness to♛ give them a shot at going to Kansas City up 2-0 in the series. 

Instead, Rodon faced six batters in the fourth ꦦand four of them scored and tཧhe Yankee offense couldn’t get anything going against lefty Cole Ragans or four Kansas City relievers.