Yankees' Carlos Rodon provides unintentional batting practice for Braves

The New York Yankees haven't had a great week. Not only did they see star Aaron Judge get hit in the hands with a pitch, but they have lost their past two series. On Thursday afternoon, the Yankees were pummeled 17-5 by the Baltimore Orioles. Luis Gil, who started the game for the Yankees, got chased in the second inning after surrendering seven earned runs on eight hits. This was uncharacteristic, considering Gil had been really good this season.

The last thing the Yankees needed was another game in which they gave up tons of runs early on. Facing off against the Atlanta Braves, the Yankees provided them with unintentional batting practice. Well, Carlos Rodon did, anyway.

Rodon was pulled in the fourth inning after surrendering eight earned runs on 11 hits. Down 8-1, manager Aaron Boone mercifully pulled Rodon from the game, as the starter was greeted with boos by Yankees fans as he walked to the dugout.

Braves have batting practice at Carlos Rodon's expense

The Braves couldn't have gotten off to a better start than they did in the Bronx. Rodon surrendered a leadoff single to Jarred Kelenic on his very first pitch thrown. On his second pitch, Rodon gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies to put the Yankees in an immediate 2-0 hole.

After getting Marcell Ozuna to ground out and Matt Olson to strikeout, Rodon's momentum disappeared, as Austin Riley crushed a solo homer to right field, increasing New York's deficit to 3-0.

From there, Kelenic hit an RBI single in the second inning, and Ramon Laureano hit an RBI double in the third. After allowing a two-run homer to Olson and an RBI double by Sean Murphy in the fourth, Rodon was pulled from the game.

This wasn't the start Rodon or the Yankees needed. After all, New York's bullpen has been taxed this past week due to the amount of innings they had to work. But this latest start has been a common theme for Rodon, who struggled in his previous start.

On June 15, Rodon allowed five home runs on seven hits through five full innings of work (109 pitches) in the team's 8-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

This is back-to-back games in which the Yankees starting pitcher got chased early. They are hoping Marcus Stroman can bring an end to this streak, as he is scheduled to start on Saturday. As for the Braves, their offense will aim to have a repeat performance.