Carlos Rodon made the New York Yankees look like geniuses for naming him the Game 1 starter of the American League Championship Series.
Despite the Cleveland Guardians being an extremely high-contact offense, Rodon sliced and diced his way through the visitors' lineup.
Rodon got off to a hot start in Game 2 of the American League Division Series before a rough fourth inning knocked him out of the game.
He made sure that wouldn't happen again.
Carlos Rodon stats ALCS Game 1
Though Rodon allowed a solo home run to Brayan Rocchio on a two-strike fastball in the top of the sixth inning, the southpaw delivered a fantastic outing to begin the ALCS.
| IP | H | R (ER) | BB | SO | Pitch | Whiffs | |
| Carlos Rodon | 6.0 | 3 | 1 (1) | 0 | 9 | 93 | 25 |
Rodon leaned heavily on his fastball, throwing it 52 times while mixing in his slider 25 times. He also threw nine changeups and four curveballs (all to righties) and three cutters (all to lefties).
Rodon's 25 swings and misses are the most in a postseason game for a Yankees pitcher since 2008 when pitch tracking began, according to Sarah Langs.
His fastball had plenty of conviction as he generated 12 swings and misses while his slider generated nine swings and misses.
Rodon gave way to Clay Holmes in the seventh inning with a 4-1 lead.
The Yankees needed a start like this from Rodon to begin the ALCS with Gerrit Cole set to take the bump in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
