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Yankees’ Carlos Rodon buckled slightly but returned with ace-level ability to navigate through trouble in Subway Series win.
The calendar read May, but the atmosphere screamed October at Yankee Stadium as the Bronx Bombers welcomed their crosstown rivals for the Subway Series opener. With the Yankees clinging to their early-season perch atop the AL East at 25-18, they desperately needed their $162 million investment to deliver.
Carlos Rodon didn’t dominate the Mets with overwhelming stuff. Instead, he showcased something potentially more valuable—resilience and competitive fire when facing adversity. The defining sequence came in the fourth inning that threatened to unravel both the game and the narrative surrounding his Yankee tenure.
The left-hander’s troubles began immediately when he walked Juan Soto to lead off the frame. His visible frustration with several borderline calls suggested a pitcher potentially losing his composure—a criticism that had followed him throughout his rocky initial season in pinstripes.
After striking out Pete Alonso, consecutive singles produced a Mets run, cutting into the Yankees’ lead. One out later, Rodon walked Francisco Alvarez on a full count, loading the bases and pushing himself toward that familiar precipice where previous outings had collapsed.
But this version of Rodon didn’t crumble. Instead, he reached back for a 95-mph fastball that induced Luisangel Acuna into a harmless fly ball to right field, escaping the inning with minimal damage. That crucial sequence preserved momentum in what ultimately became a comfortable 6-2 Yankees victory.
A return to form and focus
Rodon’s final line—five innings, one earned run, two hits allowed, and five strikeouts—lowered his season ERA to an impressive 3.17. But numbers alone fail to capture the significance of his performance.
“Good stuff again,” Yankees skipper Aaron Boone noted afterward. “They made him work for it, really drove [his pitch count] up there…All in all, five strong innings of one run on a night when they pressured him, made him work, and he made some really big pitches when he needed to.”
The southpaw generated an impressive 15 swings and misses, with his slider proving particularly devastating—Mets hitters whiffed on seven of their 11 attempts against the breaking pitch. He also benefited from spectacular defensive support, including Paul Goldschmidt’s remarkable over-the-shoulder grab on Tyrone Taylor’s pop-up to open the fifth inning.
“That was a lot of range for, I think, a 37- 38-year-old,” Rodon quipped with a smile, slightly overstating Goldschmidt’s actual 37 years. “That’s a heck of a play.”
The best version yet?
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What makes Rodon’s 2025 campaign particularly noteworthy is its consistent excellence. With Friday’s victory improving his record to 5-3, he’s now limited opponents to four hits or fewer in nine of his ten starts—more such performances than any other pitcher in baseball. Even more impressively, six of those outings have seen him surrender three hits or fewer.
Opposing batters have managed just a .167 average against him—the lowest mark among qualified starters league-wide.
Since mid-April, Rodon has been virtually untouchable. Over his last six starts dating back to April 18, he’s gone 4-0 with a microscopic 1.72 ERA, allowing just 21 hits and 12 walks while striking out 44 batters.
“I thought Carlos was really good,” praised teammate Cody Bellinger, who contributed significantly with a 3-for-5 night, including a double and two runs scored. “He’s mixing it really well, and lately he’s been pounding the zone. He’s got a bunch of really good pitches, so it’s just kind of difficult to hit him if he’s on.”
Controlled intensity
Rodon might have pitched deeper into Friday’s contest if not for the Mets’ disciplined approach. He departed after five frames, having thrown 102 pitches, with 60 finding the strike zone. His three walks to former teammate Soto highlighted both the Mets star’s exceptional eye and Rodon’s cautious approach.
“I was trying to get him to swing and miss every time,” Rodon admitted. “And he was, as he always is, really patient. He knows his zone. I wanted to get him.”
Reflecting on the overall challenge presented by the Mets lineup, he added: “They drove up the pitch count and had some good at-bats, but we got out of there with a win.”
These comments reveal a pitcher who has found the delicate balance between competitive fire and emotional control—something that eluded him during his turbulent 2023 debut season in the Bronx, when injuries and frustration frequently derailed promising outings.
What it means going forward
For a Yankees rotation devastated by injuries—now missing ace Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Marcus Stroman—Rodon’s renaissance couldn’t be more timely. With the pitching staff severely depleted and lacking depth, Rodón’s emergence as a legitimate front-line starter provides crucial stability amid mounting uncertainty.
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His ability to maintain both physical dominance and mental fortitude transforms the Yankees’ pitching outlook. The devastating fastball-slider combination that once made him one of baseball’s most coveted free agents has returned to form, but it’s his newfound poise when facing adversity, exemplified by Friday’s bases-loaded escape, that truly elevates his value.
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As the Yankees eye another championship run, they’re witnessing the evolution of Rodon from a talented but inconsistent arm to battle-tested playoff weapon—exactly the transformation they envisioned when they made their substantial investment two winters ago.
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