Sports is about winning, but the feeling of redemption comes at a close second. New York Yankees left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon achieved both Monday night in his victory over the Kansas City Royals, a microcosm of how his season has gone.
Rodon said he had the game circled on his calendar, via YES Network.
“I definitely knew this game was coming,” Rodon said. “I had it circled on the calendar and I wanted to show up and give my team the best chance to win. After coming out here last year and what happened, not pitching well, I definitely remember that.”
Rodon tossed seven innings, allowing just one run on five hits, with three strikeouts and no walks. New York won the game 4-2, and the 31-year-old is now 7-0 with a 2.28 ERA across his last seven starts. He also has 38 strikeouts compared to just six walks during that span, with a .199 opponent batting average.
Rodon got revenge for his last appearance at Kauffman Stadium, the low point of a rough 2023 campaign. On September 29th, the veteran hurler gave up eight runs without recording an out.
“I tried to flush it early on, but it's hard to get that one out of your head,” Rodon admitted. “You know, it wasn't just one start, it was a culmination of the whole '23 season, which wasn't so great. That definitely motivated me.”
Rodon had the worst year of his career last year, finishing 3-8 with a 6.85 ERA across just 64.1 innings, as he was constantly sidelined with injuries.
This year, the former Chicago White Sock is showing Yankees fans why the club handed him a $162 million deal. What's been the cause of his improvement?
Confidence and humility have done wonders for Rodon's Yankee tenure
Although Rodon pitched like a star, he continually gave credit to his teammates postgame, which will undoubtedly make him popular in the locker room.
“Just confidence, man,” he said when asked what helped him perform so well. “It's easy when our bats are swingin' the way they are, and they give me a lead like that. Especially with a guy like [Royals pitcher] Seth Lugo, who's been throwing the ball really really well. Arguably the best pitcher in our game right now, the way he's been throwing, and they put up four against a guy like that, that's tough. So it makes it easy when they score runs for me like that, it gives me the confidence to go attack the zone and get guys out.”
To Rodon's point, Lugo currently leads the league with 91.1 innings pitched, and he's tied with Rodon for second in wins (nine), via MLB.com. He's also ninth with a 2.36 ERA. It was impressive that the Yankees were able to get four runs on him across seven innings, as he's typically been shutting teams down.
“Offense showing up early, scoring some early runs made it easy to attack the zone,” Rodon continued. “Defensively, we turned some double plays, made great plays in the outfield. DJ [LeMahieu] had a heck of a play at first. Defensively they had my back, offensively they had my back. Trevi [catcher Jose Trevino] and I just went and just pitched and let everything else happen.”
Rodon was referencing a spectacular play that LeMahieu made in the fourth inning, handling a rocket off the bat and flipping it to a scampering Rodon at first, via Yankees Pod.
A pitcher is nothing without their teammates lifting them, and New York did that on both sides of the ball Monday night. After all, a hurler can only earn the win with run support.
Rodon admitted that Kansas City got him into a couple of jams, but he and Trevino worked through them smoothly.
“They put some good swings, I just was tryna attack the zone and try to get some quick outs,” Rodon said. “You know, managed to get through it. I think we got outta there with no runs [in the fifth inning]. They had some good at-bats, they put some good at-bats together in the fifth and even in the seventh you saw, third time through they had a pretty good idea of what they wanted to do. They had some good swings and pushed one across, but we held 'em to one, and the bullpen came in and did a heck of a job. Then [Michael] Tonkin closed the game out.”
Tonkin, a journeyman reliever who recorded just the second save of his career Monday night, will surely appreciate Rodon's shoutout as well. With closer Clay Holmes having a rest day, Tonkin was thrown into the fire and got the job done, tossing a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts and one walk.
“That was not a normal situation for him [Tonkin], and he comes up with a huge save,” Rodon continued. “The biggest thing is the guy fills up the zone, and he's not scared to pitch, that's for sure. A lot of confidence out of him.”
Many athletes beat their chest when they perform well, but Rodon's willingness to give his teammates credit shows his maturity and understanding of the importance of clubhouse chemistry. New York's fanbase may have been apprehensive about him at first, but there's not much to complain about anymore.
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