New York Yankees starter Carlos Rodón has often times drawn the frustration of Yankee fans during his first two seasons in pinstripes with injuries and homeruns, but his performance during Game 1 of the ALCS has fans celebrating his grit.
Rodon’s emotions can often times get the best of him, as they did in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Kansas City Royals, but he looked at teammate, and Cy Young winner, Gerrit Cole’s cool demeanor as a model approaching Game 1 of the ALCS.
“It’s just like a robot walking to the dugout,” Rodón said, according to ESPN’s Jorge Castillo.
Rodón held the Cleveland Guardians to one run on three hits without a walk, throwing 93 pitches and inducing 25 swing-and-misses, which is the most by a Yankees pitcher in a playoff game in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) to lead the Bronx Bombers to a 5-2 victory on Monday night and a 1-0 series lead.
“Gosh, he was good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We talked about would he take the experience of the first time out? And I felt like he totally applied all of that. I thought he was just in complete command of himself and of his emotions.”
Rodón retired 11 straight batters from the second inning until he game up a solo homer to Guardians’ Brayan Roccio to lead of the sixth, and would finish with 9 strikeouts.
“I thought he held his stuff really well,” Boone said. “You just watched him out there with intensity, but a lot of poise, and that’s what stood out.”
“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 executed that well tonight.”
Now the Yankees will send Cole, their ace, to the mound for Game 2 as they look to take a commanding 2-0 lead and inch close to their first World Series appearance since 2009.