Rodriguez had pretty good strikeout stuff, notching 13 whiffs among his 91 pitches and fanning five batters. Aside from that, however, he endured a rough outing, and he was pulled with two outs in the fourth after giving up three runs on two singles and two hit-by-pitches in that frame. The pair of hit batsmen and three walks highlight a major control issue for Rodriguez this season -- he's walked 16 batters and plunked six across his first 26.2 big-league innings. That's not a recipe for success, and there's a good chance Rodriguez will be sent back to the minors or moved to the bullpen following Monday's defeat.

Summoned from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last week to fill the vacant fifth spot in the rotation, Rodriguez came through with his best performance to date in the majors, yielding three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings in a no-decision against the Astros. Though Max Fried returned from the injured list Saturday to give the Yankees five healthy starters, a doubleheader that day created a stretch of six games in five days, so Rodriguez will stick around as a temporary sixth starter. The Yankees are likely to option Rodriguez to Triple-A or shift him to the bullpen following his start Monday.