Carlos Rodon was pitching with loose bodies in his left elbow when he struggled in Game 3 of the 2025 American League Division Series. That was the only game the New York Yankees won against the Toronto Blue Jays in that series.

Rodon recovered from surgery and has returned with a pair of difficult outings.

The left-hander hopes to put together a strong performance as the Yankees host the Blue Jays in the finale of a four-game series on Thursday. The most recent Rodon outing against Toronto, in the ALDS, didn’t go well.

Rodon (0-1, 5.63 ERA) allowed six runs on six hits in 2 1/3 innings last Oct. 7 before New York rallied for a 9-6 win over Toronto to delay its elimination from the series by one night. In that game, Rodon’s fastball averaged 93.4 mph and the velocity on his other pitches also diminished.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is 11-for-19 in all matchups with Rodon, belted a two-run homer off Rodon in the first inning.

Overall, Rodon is 2-3 with a 4.72 ERA in nine career regular season starts against Toronto.

This season, Rodon has been tagged for six runs (five earned) on five hits and eight walks in his first eight innings during outings against the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets.

“They didn’t go well at all,” Rodon said about his rocky two starts.

Rodon’s four-seam velocity is 95.3 mph thus far, however he has struggled with command.

In his season debut in Milwaukee on May 10, Rodon allowed three runs on two hits in 4 1/3 innings but also walked five in the 4-3 defeat. In Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Mets, Rodon yielded three runs (two earned) on three hits in 3 2/3 innings, walked five and allowed a run on a throwing error following a wild pitch.

“Both of the innings where he gets dinged there, it’s two outs and nobody on, and then some long at-bats,” manager Aaron Boone said after that outing. “There’s some really encouraging signs. We’ve got to dial in the command now.”

The Blue Jays moved to 6-10 in their past 16 games by recording a 2-1 win over New York on Wednesday after losing the first two games of the series. Andres Giminez scored on a bases-loaded walk and Guerrero added a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.

Toronto used four relievers in each of the first three games of this series and likely will lean heavily on its bullpen again Thursday.

Right-hander Braydon Fisher (2-1, 3.08) is penciled in to serve as the opener and make his second start of the season and third of his career. He is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in six career relief appearances versus the Yankees.

Spencer Miles likely will appear as a bulk reliever since 12 of his 13 appearances are out of the bullpen.

Miles pitched 3 2/3 innings of two-hit ball when he threw 56 pitches to 14 hitters in Saturday’s win at Detroit. In his previous appearance, he threw 38 pitches in three scoreless innings of a 6-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on May 10.

The Yankees were held to three runs or fewer for the sixth time in a 4-8 slump on Wednesday. Aaron Judge is 1-for-11 in the series after striking out in all four plate apparances — three times against Trey Yesavage — and 4-for-27 with 11 strikeouts over his past seven games.

“He’s a good player. I try to strike out everybody,” Yesavage said. “I guess it’s an accomplishment to strike him out three times, but I try to do that to everybody.”

Both teams likely will be without outfielders on Thursday.

New York lost center fielder Trent Grisham to left knee discomfort and is awaiting further testing. He was replaced in the outfield by Spencer Jones in the fifth inning.

Toronto lost Jesus Sanchez after he attempted a diving catch on Paul Goldschmidt’s sinking liner in the seventh inning. Manager John Schneider said Sanchez was “winded” and would be re-evaluated Thursday.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Angels are hoping for a bounce-back effort from staff ace Jose Soriano as they try to earn a split of their four-game series with the Athletics on Thursday in Anaheim, Calif.

Soriano (6-3, 2.41 ERA) was the American League Pitcher of the Month for March/April after allowing only one earned run in 37 2/3 innings over his first six starts (0.24 ERA) while striking out 43 batters. But talk about a possible Cy Young Award has quieted down a little after he has lost three of his past four starts, allowing 15 earned runs in 22 innings.

Soriano comes in off his worst start of the season, a 15-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers last Saturday. He allowed a season-high six runs in 5 1/3 innings despite yielding just one hit, a single to Freddie Freeman.

Soriano walked a career-high six batters, including four in a five-run sixth inning that also saw him hit a batter. He left after throwing 92 pitches, just 48 that were strikes.

“Everything was good up until that moment, but then I struggled with command,” Soriano said. “A lot of walks. It is what it is. There’s nothing we can do about it. Just try and be ready for the next time.”

Soriano is 1-3 with a 9.00 ERA in eight appearances (six starts) in his career against the A’s. He was pounded for eight earned runs on five hits and five walks over 2 1/3 innings in his most recent start against the Athletics that came last Sept. 5 in Anaheim.

Los Angeles has lost eight of its past nine games and is just 6-23 in last 29 contests.

For the A’s, right-hander Luis Severino (2-5, 4.45) will get the nod on Thursday. He is 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in seven career starts against the Angels.

Soriano will try to snap a personal three-start losing streak for the Athletics.

As with Soriano, May has not been a kind month for Severino, who is 0-3 with a 4.41 ERA in three starts. He comes in off a 6-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Saturday that saw him give up five runs on a season-high 10 hits — including a pair of home runs to Casey Schmitt — over six innings while striking out seven.

“Obviously, Schmitt was an issue,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “But I thought Sevy’s outing was a couple pitches away from being really good.”

The good news for the Athletics is the game is on the road, where Severino has excelled in an A’s uniform. Severino is 6-2 with a 3.02 ERA in 14 career road starts with the Athletics compared to 3-11 with a 5.91 ERA in 19 career starts at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif.

The A’s will be going for their third straight victory after rallying for a 6-5 win in 10 innings on Wednesday. Jeff McNeil led off the ninth with a home run off Kirby Yates to tie it, 5-5, and Tyler Soderstrom recorded his third RBI of the game after driving in Nick Kurtz with the winning run in the 10th.

Kurtz extended his on-base streak to 43 games with a single and two walks. He also scored two runs.

–Field Level Media

Let’s start with a warning: “Most improved” DOES NOT mean most likely to win the Super Bowl, or make the playoffs, or even finish above .500.

Here it describes four teams who worked the hardest this offseason — through coaching changes, free agency, trades and the draft — to put a better product on the field for their fans.

Two of those franchises, the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals, look like legit Lombardi contenders, while the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders are still far from being the best (or even second-best) teams in their respective divisions. All four are demonstrably improved heading into 2026.

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams have perhaps the smallest Super Bowl window in the NFL with reigning MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford entering his 18th season at age 38. They also have the shortest ramp to a ring, coming off a four-point setback to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game.

Los Angeles ranked 19th in passing defense last season during the regular season and gave up 346 yards and three touchdowns through the air to Sam Darnold in the playoff loss. They addressed their chief weakness by adding two Chiefs cornerbacks: trading for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie and signing his Kansas City partner Jaylen Watson in free agency.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals were 6-11 last season but lost games where they scored 42 points, 38 points and 34 points. They gave up a team-record 492 points for the season. A healthy Joe Burrow can only do so much, so Cincinnati finally invested heavily on the defensive side this offseason.

Cincinnati offset the loss of All-Pro Trey Hendrickson in free agency by acquiring three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence in a trade with the Giants and pairing him with two-time Pro Bowl DT Jonathan Allen. On the edge, the Bengals signed Boye Mafe to a three-year, $60 million deal and drafted Cashius Howell with the 41st pick. Cincy also signed former Chiefs safety Bryan Cook to shore up the back end.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders needed new leadership after the failed Pete Carroll experiment. Las Vegas hit the daily double by hiring head coach and offensive play-caller Klint Kubiak and giving him a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion to mold with No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. The team also brought in veteran Kirk Cousins as a mentor and a bridge until Mendoza is ready to roll.

The Raiders struck some bold deals, too, making Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum the highest-paid center in NFL history and beefing up the D with edge rusher Kwity Paye and linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker and also somehow managing to keep five-time Pro Bowl pass-rusher Maxx Crosby.

New York Giants

The Giants are also under new leadership with John Harbaugh, a Super Bowl-winning coach who took Baltimore to the playoffs 12 times. With quarterback Jaxson Dart entering his second season, it’s worth noting that Lamar Jackson won an MVP award in his second season while playing for Harbaugh.

New York has wide receiver Malik Nabers (fingers crossed) and running back Cam Skattebo returning from injuries and raided the Ravens’ roster for tight end Isaiah Likely, fullback Patrick Ricard and guard Daniel Faalele. The Giants upgraded their defense by signing two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and aced the draft with top-10 picks and foundational players Arvell Reese (fifth overall) at linebacker and offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa (10th).

These four certainly look like they improved. Now it’s time to prove it.