Carlos Rodón knows the stakes.
“Must-win game tomorrow. Go out there and compete,” the Game 2 starter said after the Yankees’ 3-1, Game 1 loss to the Red Sox in The Bronx on Tuesday.
Pushed to the brink in the Wild Card Round, the Yankees look toward a lefty whose tenure in pinstripes has been defined by evolution.
The 2023 season was an injury-filled disaster that was a disaster on the mound, too. For 2024, a previous fastball and slider specialist added a cutter, spiked the usage of his changeup and established he could be a dependable starting pitcher in pinstripes.
This season he has brought a sinker into what is now a five-pitch mix and has proven he can be more than just dependable, but an All-Star who will receive Cy Young votes.
The maturation has extended to his personality and on-mound demeanor. At this time last year, Rodón was blazing, roaring and stomping his way through the top of the Royals lineup, striking out the side in the first inning of Game 2 of the ALDS. And then he was fading, allowing four runs in a fourth inning he did not survive.
The Rodón that the world and the Yankees see Wednesday will not be the one Kansas City saw.
“I learned a lot about staying within myself and just trying to keep everything in check,” Rodón said. “So, hopefully I can keep that going for this year.”
A calmer Rodón, with his energy more controlled, will oppose Brayan Bello in The Bronx with a chance to keep the season alive, bounce back from an up-and-down 2024 postseason — Rodón was strong in two ALCS starts and poor against the Royals and Dodgers — and demonstrate that his pitch mix is not all that has changed.
Rodón had pitched with a fire to match the high-90s heat he often produced. He no longer has to reach back for his best four-seamer because of his ability to pitch, and he no longer has to expend energy celebrating a strikeout.
“I have had a lot of help with that,” said Rodón, who talked in particular with two pitchers after that Royals outing: Andy Pettitte and Gerrit Cole.
Pettitte, himself so often the October Game 2 starter and now a Yankees adviser, owned a 3.81 ERA in this time of year, the Yankees winning 23 of 32 postseason games in which he pitched. Last year’s ace Cole has become this year’s assistant pitching coach. Both are thoughtful pitchers accustomed to managing emotions in pressurized moments.
“Those two, after that start,” Rodón said, “got my mind where it needed to be.”
His adjusted mindset has resulted in fewer viral moments, like blowing a kiss to heckling Yankees fans in Anaheim two years ago or turning his back on pitching coach Matt Blake late in that season. His passion on the mound is more harnessed and subtle.
The pitches and the pitcher have continued to evolve ahead of one of the most important starts of his life.
“There are things I can look back on, but tomorrow is tomorrow. It’ll be different,” Rodón said. “But it should be fun.”
— Additional reporting by Dan Martin
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
