Kiss and make up? Yanks' Carlos Rodon regretful after blowing kiss toward fans in loss

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Though it wasn’t remotely close to Jack McDowell’s “Yankee Flipper” moment from 1995, Carlos Rodon engaged in a battle no struggling player can win Wednesday night.  

Just before descending into the dugout after the second inning – one in which Rodon allowed his second two-run homer of the game, which put the Yankees behind 4-0 in what would be a 7-3 loss – the lefthander blew a kiss to some heckling Yankees fans just behind the visitor’s first-base dugout.

“Guess it was the best reaction I could give, but better not to give a reaction,” Rodon said. “Just one of those things. I was frustrated. Frustrating outing, that’s for sure, and I showed it there in the second.”

"I didn't really pay mind to what exactly was said," said Rodon, who allowed six runs, four hits, and five walks in 4 1/3 innings to run his ERA to 7.36 in three starts as a Yankee. “A fan was angry, as they should be. I’m angry, too. And I was just angry at myself and blew a kiss, unfortunately.”

Aaron Boone said he spoke to the pitcher, who signed a six-year, $162-million free agent deal in the off-season.

“I would like him not to do that,” Boone said. “Look, he’s frustrated. Not the reaction you want and we talked about it. But when you’re in the arena and you’re going through it, sometimes you do things you don’t necessarily want to engage in. I think it was better than getting into a shouting match or doing something he would regret.”

Rodon wasn’t the only one showing anger.

Tommy Kahnle, after allowing a run in the eighth, attacked a fan [one that blows air] in the corner of the dugout.

“Guys get mad all the time in the dugout,” Boone said. “That’s apples and oranges.”

Judge runs bases

Aaron Judge [right big toe sprain], who has taken batting practice every day since Friday, ran the bases for the first time during his rehab on Wednesday. But there remains no timetable for his return.

Bader taken out

Harrison Bader left the game with what the Yankees called a posterior rib contusion, departing shortly after getting hit by a pitch in the back area in the sixth inning.

“A little sore,” said Bader, who will undergo testing on Friday. “Didn’t feel like it was best to keep going.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.