Yankees' Carlos Rodón 'grinded his way through' encouraging six-inning gem

Yankees manager Aaron Boone isn’t willing to label Carlos Rodón as a feast-or-famine pitcher. He dismissed that notion and conjecture on Friday afternoon, arguing that ample dominance from the veteran left-hander should be acknowledged more than the back-breaking pitches that have spoiled his recent outings.

The pregame message from Boone couldn’t have reached Rodón prior to his first pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays, but the comments were undoubtedly validated. In spite of profuse sweat on his uniform and some slippage on the mound, Rodón delivered six shutout innings with a season-high nine strikeouts in the team’s 1-0 win at Steinbrenner Field.

By no means was Rodón’s performance clean. He struggled with control throughout the night due to sweat and footing issues, and received a mid-inning towel break that helped dry his left arm and hand. But the southpaw overcame inconveniences, generated enough whiffs, and buckled down for his first quality start of 2025.

“I thought it was a little bit of a grind for him, actually, tonight,” Boone said of Rodón after the win. “His last two [starts] were actually better — they just put two swings out of the ballpark. He kind of grinded his way through. His stuff was good. But I just liked how he kept moving — next pitch, next pitch. Some command issues at times with him, but he was able to make a big pitch, it seemed like, all night long.”

While the main theme of Rodón’s shortcomings has been his propensity for the untimely home run, walks have also been a huge concern. He entered Friday with the fifth-highest walk percentage in the league, and his outing on Friday began with a four-pitch walk.

But he didn’t allow the two-on, no-out jam in the first inning to overwhelm him. With a four-pitch mix centered around his slider and changeup, Rodón induced three straight strikeouts to escape trouble. He allowed another leadoff walk in the second and a leadoff double in the fifth, but the Rays were unable to build rallies.

It was a gutsy effort — both physically and mentally — from Rodón, who let out a scream after throwing his 102nd and final pitch. The 32-year-old lowered his season ERA, raised his strikeout percentage, and, for at least a week, silenced doubters questioning his reliability.

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