Carlos Rodón will start AL Championship Series opener for the Yankees vs. the Guardians

NEW YORK — Carlos Rodón wants to be more like Gerrit Cole when he starts the AL Championship Series opener for the New York Yankees against Cleveland on Monday night.

After getting knocked out in the fourth inning of his Division Series start against Kansas City, Rodón paid close attention to his teammate's outing in Thursday's clincher.

''Gerrit's a good poker player. Me, not so much,'' Rodón said Sunday. ''I need to be better at poker.''

Cole pitched shutout ball into the sixth, allowed Vinnie Pasquantino's RBI double that cut the Yankees' lead to two runs, then retired Salvador Perez on a popup. He pitched seven innings in New York's series-clinching 3-1 win.

''He didn't react every inning,'' Rodón said. ''If you watched him come out, it's just like a robot walking to the dugout. Then at the end of the seventh, it's a big roar because he knows like ‘I did my job.'''

Cole starts Game 2 on Tuesday, followed by Clarke Schmidt in Game 3 at Cleveland on Thursday and rookie Luis Gil the following day in Game 4.

''It was really kind of choosing between Clarke and Carlos,'' Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday. ''It just felt like it was close, and I feel like this kind of keeps them on rhythm as much as possible without giving one guy a huge, long layoff.''

Rodón's fastball averaged 97 mph against the Royals, 1.6 mph above his season average, and he struck out the side in the first. He led 1-0 until Perez's leadoff home run in the fourth sparked a four-run inning. Tommy Pham, Garrett Hampson and Maikel Garcia hit RBI singles that chased the 31-year-old left-hander in a 4-2 loss.

''Usually I start off fairly tame velo-wise and then work my way up to the higher numbers later into the game. I wouldn't say that's a reason of why it kind of unraveled for me,'' Rodón said. ''There's some times for some better composure, and I think it could help some energy levels for sure.''

A two-time All-Star and 10-year veteran, Rodón doesn't mind displays of emotion on the field.

''If you want to act a certain way, sure, go about it your way," he said. "If you hit a homer off me 900 feet or however far, you want to flip your bat, flip your bat. You did something good. This game's hard. It's not easy. So a little celebration is fine.''

Rodón rebounded to a 16-9 record with a 3.96 ERA over 172 innings in 32 starts in his second season with the Yankees after signing a $162 million, six-year contract. He was 3-8 with a career-worst 6.85 ERA over 14 outings in a 2023 season that didn't start until July 7 because of a strained left forearm and back stiffness.

Online harassment

Rodón's wife, Ashley, said she received online harassment following his defeat.

''It's not the first time nor will it be the last time,'' the pitcher said. ''I think Ashley and I spoke about it that night, and she said, and I quote, she said, ‘I have thick skin, so I'm going to be OK.' And she does. She's a tough lady, my wife, very tough, probably tougher than I am. For me, on my phone, I have accounts, but I do not have social media on my phone."

Rizzo return?

Boone said it was possible first baseman Anthony Rizzo could be added to the roster, but no decision had been made. Rizzo has been sidelined since fracturing a pair of fingers when hit by a pitch on Sept. 28.

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