NEW YORK — New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon exited his start against the Houston Astros in the third inning Sunday with left hamstring tightness.
Rodon threw a 96 mph fastball to Chas McCormack well outside the strike zone and began circling the area behind the pitcher’s mound and appeared to stiffen up. An athletic trainer and New York manager Aaron Boone came out to check on Rodon, who threw two warmup pitches. That was followed by a second meeting, where they were joined by plate umpire Angel Hernandez.
Rodon was then replaced by rookie Jhony Brito.
After an examination at Yankee Stadium by Dr. David Trofa, Rodon will get additional tests in the next 24 hours, the team said.
Signed to a $162 million, six-year contract in the offseason, Rodon missed the first three-plus months of the season with a forearm strain and a bad back. The 30-year-old left-hander has been a disappointment since, allowing four earned runs or more in four of his six starts.
He struggled Sunday against the Astros, giving up five runs over 2 2/3 innings — including homers to Jake Meyers and Yordan Alvarez. He struck out five.
Rodon has a 7.33 ERA in 27 innings this season.