Carlos Rodón controls emotions, Guardians as Yankees win Game 1

NEW YORK – Last Thursday, as Gerrit Cole beat the Kansas City Royals in the New York Yankees’ decisive win in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, Carlos Rodón was making mental notes in the dugout. Not on anything Cole did to the Royals hitters. Not his approach or his pitch selection or his mechanics. But on Cole’s behavior around the mound. His calm as he negotiated the only traffic jam he encountered. The absence of screaming and punching. So cool, so calm.

“It’s like a robot going to the dugout,” Rodón noted.

Rodón’s emotions sabotaged his first start this postseason, in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Royals. He saw Cole as the role model he should emulate. On Monday, in the most important start of his professional career, Rodón did the same, pitching six brilliant innings in the Yankees’ 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series.

Rodón held the Guardians to one run on three hits without a walk. He had nine strikeouts, including seven with a wipeout slider, and played his fastball to near perfection. According to ESPN Research, he threw 93 pitches and collected 25 swing-and-misses – the most by a Yankees pitcher in a playoff game in the pitch-tracking era (2008-present). He was composed and dominated as the Yankees came within three wins of their first World Series appearance since 2009.

“Gosh, he was good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We talked about whether he would take the experience of the first time with him? And I felt like he fully implemented it. I thought he was just in complete control of himself and his emotions.”

Clay Holmes, Tim Hill and Luke Weaver followed Rodón out of the bullpen to record the final nine outs. The Guardians added a run in the eighth inning against Hill and threatened more before Weaver entered the game with one out and runners on the first and second innings.

The right-hander fought his way out of trouble by striking out pinch-hitter Will Brennan and grounding out Guardians superstar third baseman Jose Ramirez. Weaver, a failed starter turned shutdown hitter, closed the door with three strikeouts in the ninth inning, becoming the first Yankees pitcher with multiple five-out saves since Aroldis Chapman in 2017.

The Guardians’ counterpart to Rodón was Alex Cobb, an experienced right-hander making only his fifth start in 2024. He secured just eight outs before exiting with a strained left hip, back spasms and a mess that the bullpen had to clean up.

Cobb’s disappointment began when Juan Soto hit a leadoff home run in the third inning. He then walked the bases with two outs, prompting Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt to call up left-hander Joey Cantillo to face left-hander Anthony Rizzo, who was playing his first game since breaking two fingers in his right hand the second to last Regular season game 16 days prior. The move failed to stem the tide.

Cantillo allowed two runs to score on two wild pitches surrounding a walk to Rizzo. He then walked Gleyber Torres to start the bottom of the fifth inning before uncorking two more wild pitches, walking Soto and leaving the game without recording an out. Pedro Avila faced Aaron Judge with runners on the corners and gave up a sacrifice fly before escaping the inning.

“I didn’t make any pitches and obviously the control wasn’t there and I just have to be better next time,” Cantillo said. “That performance obviously made the difference in the game. So that’s up to me.”

According to ESPN Research, six Guardians pitchers combined for seven walks and five wild pitches, tying the all-time postseason record.

“These guys matter,” Vogt said. “They don’t hunt much. I think if I take anything away from tonight, we just need to attack the zone better and we didn’t do that tonight. They made us work.”

Rodón was full of energy and took the mound in his first start of the postseason. He pitched in the first game against the Royals, filling the strike zone on 10 of his 12 throws and reaching a speed of 98 miles per hour. He stuck out his tongue. He strutted. Monday was different. The Guardians’ All-Star leadoff batter Steven Kwan, one of the sport’s best contact hitters, flied out on the ninth pitch of his at-bat early in the game. Rodón threw 22 pitches in the first inning and 39 through two. Then he changed gears.

Rodón retired 11 batters in a row in the second inning until Brayan Rocchio tagged a fastball for a solo home run to lead off the sixth inning. Seven of the outs came via strikeouts. Everyone was swinging.

“I thought he had a really good handle on his stuff,” Boone said. “You just watched him out there with intensity but also a lot of composure, and that’s what stood out.”

Rodón ended his night with a nine-pitch win over Ramírez, who hit a line drive that Judge tracked to the warning track in center field. He left the hill one last time to celebrate. Cool and calm, almost like a robot.

“The goal was to just stay in control, stay in control of what I can do, obviously physically and emotionally,” Rodón said. “I thought I did a good job tonight.”