Carlos Rodon's rough first inning leads to another Yankees loss to Nationals

WASHINGTON — When it’s 98 degrees out, as it was for the first pitch of the Yankees game at Nationals Park on Wednesday night, it’s easy to lose your cool.

Or to get hot under the collar.

Carlos Rodon did both during a nightmare two-run first inning that included a leadoff home run, a run-scoring balk, a wild pitch, and three separate, extremely frustrating PitchCom breakdowns, which the Yankees said had been happening during the entire three-game series.

Rodon lasted 5 2⁄3 innings and allowed five runs as the Yankees dropped the rubber game to the Nationals, 5-2.

The PitchCom issues were so prevalent that the umpires decided that neither team could use the technology after the second inning. For the rest of the game, pitchers and catchers used old-fashioned finger signals.

“It was definitely frustrating,” catcher Austin Wells said.

Of the balk, Rodon said: “I was [ticked] about it. I didn’t step off soon enough, but PitchCom wasn’t working, and it was what it was. I should have stepped off first and confronted about the PitchCom. I gave up a stupid run there. So that was pretty upsetting. Just try to move on from it and go attack. Just wasn’t my best.”

Rodon (14-9, 4.31 ERA), who threw six shutout innings against Colorado in his last outing, gave up the first home run of Washington rookie Dylan Crews’ career on the second pitch of the bottom of the first.

It was the 25th home run Rodon has allowed this season. Nine of them have come in the first inning, which is tied for the most in the AL.

James Wood followed with a single to left. Before the third batter, Andres Chaparro, Rodon complained that he could not hear the calls from Wells with the PitchCom device embedded in his cap. Jazz Chisholm Jr. appeared to give Rodon his PitchCom device.

Wood stole second without a throw. The next pitch to Chaparro was a wild one, and Wood took third. Chaparro later walked on a 3-and-2 pitch.

Before the first pitch to Juan Yepez, Rodon broke his hands and stopped his delivery. He pointed to his cap — his replacement PitchCom wasn’t working, either.

Oops. Rodon should have stepped off the rubber. Plate umpire Tony Randazzo called a balk. Wood scored to make it 2-0, Chaparro took second, and Rodon stormed toward the plate, unhappy with the balk call.

Rodon and manager Aaron Boone argued, to no avail.

Chisholm made it 2-1 with a homer off MacKenzie Gore in the second. It was Chisholm’s ninth home run in 20 games with the Yankees.

The second inning was another nightmare for Rodon. Jacob Young beat out a bunt single and stole second. Nasim Nunez hit an RBI single to left to make it 3-1 and took second on Alex Verdugo’s throw home.

Nunez then stole third base standing up without a throw and scored one batter later on Wood’s single to left. Wood stole second and third, giving the Nationals five stolen bases in the first two innings.

The Nationals made it 5-1 in a three-hit fourth. Crews drove in the run with a one-out double off the left-centerfield wall. The Yankees got a gift second out on the double when Nunez was caught off third base on a back-pick throw by DJ LeMahieu.

That blunder was nothing compared to the baserunning abomination Washington committed in the eighth.

With runners on first and second, Jose Tena hit a ball off the centerfield wall. The ball caromed to Aaron Judge. The baserunner from second, Joey Gallo, rounded third, stopped and tried to go back. Third was already occupied by Yepez, who started the play on first. The rundown play went on for 24 seconds. The Yankees ended up tagging out Gallo near third and Tena between first and second with Yepez making it safely back to second.

On YES, Ryan Ruocco called it “an inexplicable double play.” The scoring was 8-6-2-3-2-5-4.

And the Nationals still ended up as the winning team. The Yankees put the first two men on in the ninth, but Kyle Finnegan retired pinch hitter Oswaldo Cabrera on a liner to center, got Verdugo on a comebacker, and struck out Gleyber Torres for his 34th save. For the second night in a row, the game ended with Juan Soto in the on-deck circle.

The Yankees went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. On Tuesday, the Yankees were hitless in eight such at-bats in a 4-2 defeat. For the series, they went 1-for-26.

“Obviously, didn’t do enough the last two nights pushing runs across,” Boone said. “And lost the series. Tough one.”

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.