Pave Ruth

The Yankees may have already secured their spot in October before their trip to the desert but with a chance at the AL East title still a possibility, along with having Gerrit Cole and the probable AL Cy Young winner in Cam Schlittler taking the bump, this would be no cake walk of a series and the Diamondbacks would need to at least win this series if they want any sliver of hope going into their final 6 games in Colorado and San Diego . With the 25th anniversary of the 2001 World Series winning team being celebrated this series, maybe they would be able to have some of that magic rub off onto this 2026 ballclub and use it as the fuel they need to propel them towards postseason baseball.

Eduardo Rodriguez has undoubtedly been the best starter in the Diamondbacks rotation for all of 2026 as he leads the starters in wins (15), ERA (2.89), IP (183.2) and K's (140), but the issue that has been rearing its head all season for Rodriguez has been his struggles out of the gate and we got more of the same in Friday night's series opener with the Yankees putting up a 5 spot before the Diamondbacks even had the chance to swing the lumber.

The three of us looked at ERod's numbers from the 1st inning of his starts compared to the rest of the game and it was as night and day as it could get with his first inning ERA this season sitting at 7.84, a WHIP of 1.77 and an opposing slash of .302/.389/579. From the 2nd inning and beyond he evolves into a completely different pitcher with his 1.89 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and opposing hitter slashing just .222/.279/.326. This isn't even necessarily just an issue he's had in 2026 either as his career ERA in the 1st inning (4.51) compared to the rest of his innings (3.92) shows that he's always had struggles early in games for most of his career.