Carlos Rodon relaxed and was the star the Yankees needed

The only sign that Carlos Rodon was firing on all cylinders in this start was that he was the only player on the field for ALCS Game 1 in short sleeves.

The first pitch on Monday was 50 degrees and the temperature dropped as the innings progressed. The flags hanging at the top of Yankee Stadium flapped around loud enough that at times they could be heard even at the maximum volume of 47,264.

As an outdoorsman, Rodon said he likes cold weather and thought it had been at least five years since he last pitched in long sleeves. Regardless of the weather on Monday evening, Rodon was relaxed. That's what he promised and what the Yankees wanted and needed.

“I thought he had complete control of himself and his emotions,” Aaron Boone said after Rodon pitched six stunning one-run innings in the Yankees' 5-2 victory over the Guardians.

Rodon's temper became a central theme in the Division Series. While Rodon was plagued by out-of-control emotions in his first Yankee season in 2023, he was better in every way in 2024. But in the Yankees' only loss so far this postseason – Game 2 against the Royals – Rodon caught fire. He got three strikeouts in the first inning and celebrated each one like it was New Year's Day. He became exhausted in the fourth inning and ultimately left the game. He lost control of his balance and the strike zone.

The Yankees wondered if they really wanted to open a Championship Series with the left-hander. But there is no one among the Yankees who is nearly as honestly self-analytical with reporters as Rodon. And his session on Sunday was more therapy than a press conference. He admitted that he was unable to take a deep breath and compose himself. And cited how Gerrit Cole went through one inning after the other dispassionately and with a “poker face” in the Yankees’ decisive fourth game.

Why it would take a 10-year major league player with postseason experience so long to learn this lesson is one of the mysteries that comes with the Rodon experience. But at least he learned it. He wanted to be, in his words, “a robot.”

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

Unlike the Royals, the first inning against Cleveland was in many ways his toughest. Steven Kwan opened the game by fouling out three two-strike pitches and forced a nine-pitch duel before striking out. David Fry singled and Rodon walked all four batters in a 22-pitch inning.

He faced 17 other batters and threw a first-pitch strike in 13, managed just one three-ball count and finished with none walked, nine strikeouts and 25 swings-and-misses, mostly with one Fastball he played well to right hitters and by unleashing a menacing slider. Brayan Rocchio led off with a home run in the sixth, but as Clay Holmes warmed up, Rodon finished the sixth and maintained the 4-1 lead.

“There was obviously a lot of question (starting against the Royals) about whether (Rodon) would start Game 1 or 3 (ALCS),” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “That’s why there was noise. But he set the tone for us here. He was aggressive and lashed out at people who wouldn't normally lash out, and he showed us that he could deal with his emotions calmly and neutrally. He never let it get too big.”

And the Yankees needed his work and the continued excellent bullpen work of Holmes and Luke Weaver, both of whom appeared in all five of the Yankees' postseason games without allowing a run.

As against Kansas City, there was another opportunity for Aaron Judge to lead off a game in the first inning, but he struck out with two ons and no outs and is now 11 in his last 21 postseason first-inning at-bats Strikeouts hitless. That led to the Yanks being 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and 6-for-42 (.143) in the postseason.

These Yankees do less with more – they get a lot of base runners, especially on walks, and don't concede enough to provide comfort in any of these games.

Juan Soto led off the third with his first postseason home run for the Yankees. What followed was a nine-batter sequence that bridged the third and fourth innings in which Alex Cobb and Joey Cantillo combined for six walks and threw four wild pitches (all by Cantillo), including two that scored runs. It was actually 4-0. But other than the Soto home run, there were no other hits that could have opened the game. The Yanks were 2 of 12 with men on base and are now 16 of 84 (.190) in the playoffs. The only hit the Yanks got after the Soto homer was one by Giancarlo Stanton with two outs in the seventh – his 13th homer in 32 Yankee playoff games.

It was enough to get the Yankees to 4-1 in these playoffs and a 1-0 lead in the ALCS because of excellent run prevention – led by Rodon on Monday.

He wore short sleeves, but was always a businessman who kept his cool.