Yankees again see best and worst of Carlos Rodon, all in a night's work

Carlos Rodon was signed to be the Yankees’ 1A starter, the complement to Gerrit Cole to form a lethal gauntlet in a short postseason series.

The lefty’s debut season in 2023 was nothing short of a nightmare, but heading into his pinstriped playoff debut on Monday night, the $162 million man was pitching to an impressive 2.91 ERA over his final 12 starts, inspiring hope that Rodon could still be a part of the two-headed monster that the Yanks envisioned when they signed him as their big addition of the 2023 offseason.

Rodon rewarded that hope for three innings, then came undone in all-too familiar fashion to send the Yanks on the road without momentum.

Rodon’s first inning couldn’t have gone much better, striking out the side on 12 pitches while dealing 98 mph heat and showing plenty of emotion on the mound during his dominance. But once Salvador Perez’s no-doubt home run left the yard in the top of the fourth, Rodon looked like a different pitcher, once again showing the highest of highs and lowest of lows, all in a night’s work.

Perez’s home run tied the game at one, but Rodon wasn’t the same after, leaving his slider up in the zone while suddenly struggling to command his fastball that was overpowering the top of the Kansas City lineup three innings prior. His night ended after allowing three more runs to the bottom of the Royals order, and disappeared into the dugout to a much different sound than the raucous applause he heard after bouncing off the mound in the first inning.

All told, Rodon allowed four runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings, hardly the stat line expected from a 1A starter.

“His stuff was excellent tonight, and Salvy leading off the inning felt like the first guy he got behind,” Aaron Boone said after the 4-2 loss. “From there, started making some mistakes.

“Just a tough inning where his command got away from him…all of a sudden, just a little scattered there.”

Now, the Yanks board a flight to Kansas City leaning on Clarke Schmidt to get the ball back to Cole in game four, in what they hope will be a chance to clinch. If not, serious questions linger about the top-of-the-rotation arms answering the call with the season on the line, whether it be Cole in game four or Rodon in a decisive game five. Rodon himself has admitted to allowing himself to get “flustered” at times on the mound, albeit less so than early in his career, but things seemed to unravel quickly on Monday night, and Rodon’s response was not the type expected from a 1A. in game one, when Cole was grinding through a rough outing, he was able to keep things manageable and put the Yanks in position to take the series opener. Rodon did not.

Cole has the postseason pedigree and a recent Cy Young Award to his credit, but his abbreviated season due to an elbow injury and his shaky game one outing make his typical seven quality innings anything but a certainty. And then there’s Rodon, often criticized for his inability to stay composed, which dates back to his tumultuous debut season in the Bronx, which included blowing a kiss to angry fans after a rough outing, and turning his back on pitching coach Matt Blake during another rough start. Would he be able to stay level and focused for a winner-take-all game five, should it come to that? Or would the first sign of trouble, like a Perez solo home run, drastically change his complexion?

The Yankees have no choice but to hope Rodon can settle in and justify the team’s hefty investment should the season come down to him back in the Bronx in four nights.