Rod¨®n shoves, Wells homers twice in Opening Day tuneup

LAKELAND, Fla. ¨C The Yankees¡¯ Opening Day battery of Carlos Rodón and Austin Wells appears ready for prime time.

Rod¨®n hurled 4 2/3 scoreless innings in his final spring tuneup, and Wells homered twice as the Yankees defeated the Tigers, 4-0, in Grapefruit League play on Friday at Publix Field. The duo¡¯s next pairing will come in the March 27 opener against the Brewers at Yankee Stadium.

¡°It¡¯s just kind of what we do ¨C just turn the lights on and go play,¡± Rod¨®n said.

Named the Yankees¡¯ Opening Day starter following a season-ending right elbow injury to ace right-hander Gerrit Cole, Rod¨®n limited Detroit to three hits in a 77-pitch effort (45 strikes), walking three and striking out five. Rod¨®n said he considers the Opening Day nod an honor, but added: ¡°I would rather have Gerrit Cole pitching the first game and him being healthy.¡±

¡°He¡¯s our ace, he¡¯s our rock,¡± Rod¨®n said. ¡°It¡¯s tough. It¡¯s part of pitching; it seems like all of us have gone through some sort of surgery. He¡¯s a Hall of Fame pitcher, and it¡¯s tough to have him not be a part of this season, but it¡¯s our job as a pitching staff to pick him up.¡±

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he has confidence in Rod¨®n¡¯s ability to lead the staff.

¡°With Carlos, I remind him of this every now and then: I just want him to focus on going to the post every fifth or sixth day,¡± Boone said. ¡°Just focus on that, taking the ball and doing all the work in between. If you do that, it¡¯s going to add up to good stuff. I feel like he¡¯s in a good spot right now and ready to go Opening Day.¡±

It has been an eventful camp for the Yankees, including numerous other injuries and managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner announcing the franchise¡¯s reversal of a policy forbidding facial hair (other than mustaches) that dated to the mid-1970s.

¡°I will say, there are some days I wake up in the morning and I¡¯m like, ¡®Do I need to shave today?¡¯¡± said Rod¨®n, who started growing his beard almost immediately after the club¡¯s Feb. 21 announcement.

Wells has enjoyed a strong spring on both sides of the ball, batting .366 (15-for-41) with five homers. Boone is leaning toward using the catcher as the club¡¯s leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching.

¡°It¡¯s been fun,¡± Wells said. ¡°I know it¡¯s just Spring Training, and you¡¯ve got to do it in the real [season]. But it¡¯s been a lot of fun for me, getting to go up there and set the tone a little bit.¡±

The backstop belted a leadoff blast facing Tigers right-hander Keider Montero, then hit a three-run shot to the opposite field in the seventh off left-hander Tyler Holton as part of a three-hit performance.

¡°He¡¯s swinging it really well,¡± Rod¨®n said. ¡°He seems pretty dialed in. Save some of that for the season, please.¡±