There’s an age-old saying that when it rains, it pours. The Yankees have been struggling at the dish for a week now, and it doesn’t help that guys like Kyle Hendricks and Jack Kochanowicz had noticeably improved command and, for Kochanowicz, velocity the last two days. It also doesn’t help that when runs are at a premium, the Yankees seem to keep getting in their own way with costly baserunning mistakes and errors.

On a hot June afternoon in the Bronx, with the Yankees riding a six-game losing streak, they allowed two home runs in the first two innings to fall behind, while another replay room controversy stalled the offense. As if it couldn’t can’t get any worse, the skies opened up. When it rains, it literally pours … for eight minutes, anyway.

Shortly after the brief pause, the Yankees’ offense got its mojo back. A pair of home runs by Trent Grisham and Paul Goldschmidt got them the lead in the second, and they never looked back. A quality start from Carlos Rodón and seven runs by the suddenly-awoken offense powered a 7-3 win to avoid the sweep and end the losing streak (after one more delay in the eighth).

Rodón came out at the top of the first and, after narrowly avoiding an early homer on a nice running play by Grisham, allowed a no-doubter off the bat of future first-ballot Hall of Famer Mike Trout, the 390th of his career. For the second straight day, the Yankees were down 1-0 before their slumbering bats could even come to the plate.

Fortunately, the offense had a response. A leadoff double by Goldschmidt and an infield single by Cody Bellinger immediately set them up with the heart of the order at the dish.

The deeply slumping Aaron Judge struck out before Giancarlo Stanton ripped a groundball that turned into an RBI forceout after the usually-slow slugger beat out the slow-developing play. The Yankees challenged that Bellinger had beaten the throw to second, and despite multiple angles suggesting he had, the call stood. Still, the game was tied at one.

The game wouldn’t be tied for long, however, as Rodón coughed up a go-ahead home run to Jo Adell, the former top prospect’s ninth in his last 18 games. The long ball has always hurt Rodón since he signed in New York, but he’s been much improved this season. Today was a struggle in that regard, as the Angels went up, 2-1.

But then, just before the start of the frame, the tarp went on the field. There was scattered thunderstorms across the New York area all afternoon and the game was delayed for a whole eight minutes. Yes, essentially the mere length of “Stairway to Heaven.”

The offense appeared to hit another snag in the bottom half after an Austin Wells double play, but a two-out single by DJ LeMahieu sparked a two-out rally that included back-to-back home runs by Grisham and Goldschmidt off Tyler Anderson.

It was Grisham’s first home run of the month after 13 through the end of May. With their four runs, the Yankees already had their most since last Wednesday and led 4-2 after two.

The two pitchers settled in after allowing four home runs combined through two innings. Rodón worked around a first-and-second/one-out jam in the third and a confusing check swing call in the fourth, while Anderson was extremely efficient over the next two innings to get his pitch count in order.

After a 1-2-3 fifth from Rodón and another solid inning from Anderson, the Angels broke the lull with their third solo home run of the game, a short-porch special off the bat of Taylor Ward (his 19th of the season) to cut the lead to 4-3. It was a hot day in the Bronx, and the ball was carrying.

The latter two of the Angels’ home runs were certainly assisted by it. Still, Rodón got the next two outs and walked out with a quality start. It wasn’t his best outing, and his ERA crept further up, but he struck out seven and only walked one. The three homers were his only mistakes.

A pair of singles by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Austin Wells had the Yankees threaten off of a laboring Anderson. Wells’ single was a 104-mph liner off of Anderson’s leg, which left a nasty bruise/bloody sock. On a 3-2 count with two out and two on, Wells tried to get a perfect jump and, with a lefty on the mound, got picked off to end the inning. A brutal baserunning mistake during a week when it seems to happen every day.

Mark Leiter Jr. came out of the bullpen and easily retired the bottom of the Angels’ order 1-2-3. The Angels went to Sam Bachman out of the bullpen, and he surrendered a double to Grisham with one out. After a brutal cold streak, it appears that moving him down is working. Grisham would score an insurance run on a Bellinger RBI single, but he was thrown out at second in another close play. It would’ve been great to still have a challenge, but the Yankees took a 5-3 lead.

Jonathan Loáisiga came on for the eighth, and he retired Zach Neto on an all-around strong defensive play by Chisholm and Goldschmidt. On the next pitch, Nolan Schanuel scorched a ball off of Loaisiga’s glove that turned into a savvy 1-4-3 groundout. Despite a Trout single, the 30-year-old Nicaraguan threw up a crucial zero.

Sometimes, when you’re in a slide, you just need a little luck. After a week straight of nothing going his (or the team’s way), Judge appeared to strike out on three pitches to lead off the bottom of the eighth, but the umpire improperly called it a foul ball. A few pitches later, Judge ripped a double into the left-center field gap. If that breaks the slump, we know why. Stanton worked a walk before yet another rain delay.

This one was a little bit longer at 33 minutes, but the game resumed and Chisholm laid down a perfect bunt on the first pitch off of new pitcher Brock Burke to load the bases. A pair of productive outs, a groundout by Volpe and a sacrifice fly by Wells, got two extra runs to push the lead to 7-3.

There would be no shenanigans in the ninth with Devin Williams, as with Luke Weaver potentially on the brink of returning to retake the closer role, he struck out three in a scoreless ninth. As Michael Kay put it, “the nightmare is over.”

For the first time in a week, the Yankees won. They avoided the sweep and took the season series against the Angels, 4-3. Rodón picked up his ninth win; he and Max Fried are the only pitchers in the majors with more than eight.

Looking to build off of today, the Yankees will head back into divisional play with a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles in the Bronx tomorrow night. Max Fried squares off against Tomoyuki Sugano with first pitch coming at 7:05pm ET on YES.

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