The Yankees were officially eliminated from the AL East title race by the Rays’ win in the second game of the doubleheader on Tuesday. They managed to temporarily stave off elimination thanks to a dominant performance by Carlos Rodón in the first game of the day’s twin billing. With eight scoreless innings, he equalled his longest outing in a Yankees uniform to lower his season ERA to a sterling 2.67. Given the gravity of the performance and the game, it was a no-brainer to select Rodón for our Sequence
of the Week.
We join Rodón facing Liam Hicks to lead off the top of the second. With one of MLB’s best run suppressors in Nick Martinez on the mound for the Rays, the task ahead of Rodón is a tough one. Hicks has proven an inspired pickup from the Marlins by the Rays at the deadline, batting .305 with a 143 wRC+ in 123 plate appearances since making the switch from the Atlantic Coast to the Gulf Coast, which explains why the catcher is batting cleanup for Tampa Bay.
Rodón starts Hicks with a first pitch four-seamer at 93 mph, Ali Sánchez setting a target low and away.
Rodón nails his spot with this fastball, painting the corner for called strike one. Hicks must be looking for something on the inner half, because he watches it go by without a thought of offering.
It appears Rodón is satisfied with the way that pitch felt coming out of the hand, because he goes right back to that pitch-location combo.
Same pitch, even better execution. Rodón paints the bottom edge of the zone with this 93 mph four-seamer for strike two called. It’s obvious at this point that Hicks is hunting something he can pull given the bat has not left his shoulder, and this is the last pitch you want to be trying to get out in front of.
At this point, Hicks has to defend that corner of the strike zone. Establishing the four-seamer for called strikes there has Hicks perfectly set up for the wipeout slider down and away out of the zone as he’s now forced to look away.
It’s the right idea but just without the execution to match. Rodón pulls this slider a hair, bouncing it beyond home plate for ball one. It looks like a ball low out of the hand, making for a pretty easy take from Hicks.
Rodón is still in the driver’s seat with the count 1-2. He’d be well within his rights to try another slider low and away, this time trying to execute it closer to the zone. However, he elects to go back to the four-seamer, if not for the strikeout then to set up a future slider.
Even though Rodón fails to elevate this four-seamer where he wants it and ends up leaving it in a pretty dangerous place, the 19 inches of induced vertical break keep the pitch above Hicks’ barrel, leading to a foul ball rather than a ball in play. What’s more, as we are about to see, this fastball is the perfect setup pitch for a chase slider.
By continuing to prove that he can land his four-seamer on the outer edge of the zone, Rodón keeps the door open for Hicks to chase a slider.
Rodón unleashes a dandy, this slider looking like a strike out of the hand before falling off the table for the swinging strikeout. This kind of slider is so tough to lay off because it remains over the plate for the entire journey toward home, the sharp downward movement carrying it into an unhittable location. Rodón can thank the prior four-seamer for the outcome of this slider.
Look at the way the slider and the four-seamer that immediately preceded it look exactly the same coming out of Rodón’s hand. Rodón landing that four-seamer where he did set a perfect target for him to tunnel the subsequent slider. Hicks really never had a chance at distinguishing the two pitches from each other and goes down with a weak hack.
Here’s the full sequence:
Rodón is hitting his stride just in time for the playoffs. Over his last eight starts he has a 1.67 ERA with less than one home run allowed per nine, allowing two or fewer runs in all eight of those appearances. He really can’t do much more when it comes to making a case for the postseason rotation. The competition is fierce, with Cy Young frontunner Cam Schlittler starting early on and Aaron Boone looking likely to pick 2024 ace Gerrit Cole and 2025 ace Max Fried for the two other Wild Card Series starts. Even with Rodón’s recent excellence, he could be out of luck unless they advance. Still, Rodón has certainly earned the opportunity and is someone I would absolutely feel confident handing the ball.
We’ve written a lot about Rodón’s evolution as a starting pitcher to being a more well-rounded complete package thanks to the mastery of changeup and sinker. I certainly do not want to downplay this transformation and how key it is for his longevity. However, this outing was something of a throwback start for Rodón — a glimpse of the peak version from his days in Chicago and San Francisco. He whiffed over 30-percent of batters on his four-seamer and over 40-percent on his slider, that deadly pitch pairing the hallmark of his earlier years. This AB in particular was vintage Rodón, with each four-seamer exhibiting at least 19 inches of induced vertical break — well above the threshold that is considered elite — and his slider dropping two inches more than its season average. If he can hold onto the feel of this start, the Yankees will have a real weapon in the playoffs, be that out of the rotation or the bullpen.
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