The Yankees and Guardians started a much-anticipated American League Championship Series in the Bronx. The Yankees get home-field advantage with the best record in the American League. They sent left-hander Carlos Rodon to battle the Guardians in game one.
Carlos Rodon Rebounds In ALCS Performance
The Guardians set up offensively differently than the Kansas City Royals. The Yankees understood that and added Marcus Stroman to the roster to reassure them.
What else did they require in this series? They need their starting rotation to deliver by way of effectiveness and innings of service. This would add depth to their relief options if the starters went their expected distance. The Yankees relied on Rodon to set the bar, and he did just that.
Carlos Rodon Pitched Well Against Guardians
Rodon struggled in his previous outing and did not look like himself. He picked up an ugly loss against the Kansas City Royals, with an early exit.
His line was only three and two-thirds of an inning. He gave up seven hits, four earned runs, and one home run, although he struck out seven. This led to a loss for the Yankees, and it was one to quickly forget.
The Guardians posed a bigger threat than the Royals, presenting a diverse batting order consisting of a fair amount of left-handed and right-handed hitters. They are also good with contact and putting the ball in play, with a hint of power.
The Guardians were kept tamed for the most part by Rodon. They left four on base and were one for four with runners in scoring position. Rodon dealt early and often, working quick, quality innings and making quick work of hitters.
The Southpaw’s Numbers And Success Map
His final line ended with 6.0 innings pitched, only giving up one earned run on three hits, one of those being a home run by Brayan Rocchio. This was all they pushed across off of Rodon.
The southpaw struck out nine hitters, throwing 63 strikes of his 93 total pitches. He had 25 swinging strikes, 10 called strikes, and 12 strikes in play. Rodon pounded the zone and worked off the zone, keeping hitters off-balanced.
He predominantly platooned his fastball and slider, which did the job. His fastball sat around 95 mph and sprayed the square, in and out. The slider sat around 87 mph and worked off the plate, creating chase. Rodon forced hitters to roll over on his off-speed and breaking pitches. Each pitch was used strategically with emphasis and confidence. He found common ground with the effect of his offerings and stuck to the pattern that was working.
Batters swung at 50 of his offers and left 43. He recorded two groundouts and seven flyouts.
Rodon’s approach was effective and resulted in excellence in silencing the Guardians bats. The lefty picked up a huge win to put the Yankees up 1-0 in the ALCS. Yankees bullpen took it from there and sealed the deal. This sets the tone and keeps a healthy bullpen intact for the rest of this series.
Main Photo Credits: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
