Carlos Rodon Earned His Big Check And Bounced Back in a Huge Way To Lead The Yankees To a Game 1 ALCS W Over Cleveland
Dustin Satloff. Getty Images.When Carlos Rodon signed his six year, $162M contract with the Yankees that meant he'd be relied upon for the biggest starts of his life when it came to pitching in October in the Bronx. He was trusted with the ball on Monday to be that guy and he rewarded Boone with a gem.
Rodon's first Yankees postseason start did not go to plan. He was chased before completing four innings and put the team in a losing situation. Just nowhere near good enough when you're the starting pitcher of his quality. He was way too amped up and couldn't keep himself composed. The second one thing went against him he crumbled. He said in between starts he studied how Gerrit Cole handled himself in Game 4 of the ALDS. Well, on Monday night in Game 1 of the ALCS the Rodon the Yankees are paying the big bucks to showed up. He was fucking money. Fastball command. Wipeout slider usage. Even some changeups to get a couple whiffs. How about 25 swings and misses total? The most by a Yankees pitcher in the postseason since they started tracking the stat in 2008.
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The Yankees offense didn't exactly explode tonight, but Juan Soto did Juan Soto things. Getting this ball over the right center field wall with the wind going nuts was not an easy task. That's why he's Juan Soto though. I'll pay $500 for a chicken bucket if that's what it takes to keep him here.
Stanton also did Playoff Stanton things. Klemmer said this guy shouldn't be rostered by MLB teams. He's got a .368 average in the postseason so far with a 1.244 OPS. Forget April-September, the dude just lives for the biggest moments.
Despite the two bombs, the Yankees were actually 0 for 7 with RISP in this game. They've yet to really find the big hit so far in the postseason. Judge, Wells, and Jazz have been zeroes. While that's troubling, the fact that they're up 1-0 in the ALCS despite that is a great sign. Wouldn't kill to find one here and there. If not for Joey Cantillo refusing to throw to the catcher's mitt this might have ended differently. Instead he spiked four wild pitches that allowed the Yankees to score a few free runs and cushion their lead. The Joey Cantillo experience was very enjoyable.
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Tate was very happy as you can imagine.
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It felt like a Rick Ankiel moment, and it was!
Luke Weaver had to come in later on for a five out save, but that's just what he does. Dream Weaver is an absolute stud. Holmes was great in the 7th inning too. Guy is locked into that role and it's great to see. Boone got a little cute with Hill in the 8th, but it didn't burn him thankfully.
It's just Game 1, but that was very enjoyable. Cole goes tomorrow to try and make it 2-0. Keep it rolling boys