Rodón emulates ‘robot’ Cole, steers Yanks’ G1 win
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW YORK — On Thursday, while Gerrit Cole mowed down the Kansas City Royals in the New York Yankees‘ series-clinching Game 4 win in the American League Division Series, Carlos Rodón took mental notes from the dugout.
Not on anything Cole did to Royals hitters. Not on his approach or his pitch selection or his mechanics. But on Cole’s demeanor around the mound. His tranquility as he navigated the only jam he encountered. The lack of screams and fist pumps. So cool, so calm.
“It’s just like a robot walking to the dugout,” Rodón noted.
Rodón’s emotions sabotaged his first start of this postseason, in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Royals. He saw in Cole the model to emulate. On Monday, in the most important start of his professional career, Rodón nailed the imitation, tossing six brilliant innings in the Yankees’ 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series.
Rodón held the Guardians to one run on three hits without a walk. He tallied nine strikeouts, seven on a wipeout slider he played off his fastball to near perfection. He threw 93 pitches and induced 25 swing-and-misses — the most by a Yankees pitcher in a playoff game in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008), according to ESPN Research. He was composed and he was dominant as the Yankees moved within three wins of their first World Series appearance since 2009.
“Gosh, he was good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We talked about would he take the experience of the first time out? And I felt like he totally applied all of that. I thought he was just in complete command of himself and of his emotions.”
Clay Holmes, Tim Hill and Luke Weaver followed Rodón out of the bullpen to record the final nine outs. The Guardians added a run in the eighth inning against Hill and threatened for more before Weaver entered with one out and runners on first and second.
The right-hander wiggled out of the jam by striking out pinch hitter Will Brennan and getting superstar third baseman Jose Ramirez to ground out. Weaver, a failed-starter-turned-shutdown-closer, shut the door with three strikeouts in the ninth inning, becoming the first Yankees pitcher with multiple five-out saves since Aroldis Chapman in 2017.
The Guardians’ counter to Rodón was Alex Cobb, a veteran right-hander making just his fifth start in 2024. He secured just eight outs before departing with a tight left hip, back spasms and a mess for the bullpen to clean up.
Cobb’s unraveling began with Juan Soto‘s leadoff blast in the third inning. He then walked the bases loaded with two outs, prompting Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt to summon left-hander Joey Cantillo to face lefty hitter Anthony Rizzo, who was playing in his first game since fracturing two fingers in his right hand in the penultimate game of the regular season 16 days earlier. The move did not stem the tide.
Cantillo allowed two runs to score on two wild pitches around a walk to Rizzo. He then walked Gleyber Torres to start the bottom of the fifth inning before uncorking two more wild pitches, walking Soto, and exiting without recording an out. Pedro Avila was called on to face Aaron Judge with runners on the corners and surrendered a sacrifice fly before escaping the inning.
“I didn’t execute pitches and the control obviously was not there and just got to be better next time,” Cantillo said. “That performance was obviously the difference in the game. So that’s on me.”
Six Guardians pitchers combined for seven walks and five wild pitches, tying the MLB postseason record, according to ESPN Research.
“Gosh, he was good. We talked about would he take the experience of the first time out? And I felt like he totally applied all of that. I thought he was just in complete command of himself and of his emotions.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Carlos Rodón
“These guys work the count,” Vogt said. “They don’t chase a whole lot. I think if I take something away from tonight, we just need to attack the zone better, and we didn’t tonight. They made us work.”
Rodón was more amped-up when he took the mound in his first start of the postseason, a 4-2 loss to the Royals. He came out firing in the first, filling up the strike zone with 10 of his 12 pitches and touching 98 mph. He stuck out his tongue. He strutted.
Monday was different. Guardians All-Star leadoff batter Steven Kwan, one of the sport’s premier contact hitters, flied out on the ninth pitch of his at-bat to begin the game. Rodón threw 22 pitches in the first inning and 39 through two. Then he shifted gears.
Rodón retired 11 straight batters from the second inning until Brayan Rocchio tagged a fastball for a solo home run to lead off the sixth. Seven of the outs came via the strikeout. All were swinging.
“I thought he held his stuff really well,” Boone said. “You just watched him out there with intensity, but a lot of poise, and that’s what stood out.”
Rodón ended his night by winning a nine-pitch battle against Ramírez, who roped a line drive that Judge chased down at the warning track in center field. He walked off the mound for the final time to cheers. Cool and calm, almost like a robot.
“The goal was to just stay in control, stay in control of what I can do, obviously physically and emotionally,” Rodón said. “I thought I executed that well tonight.”
Just when you thought the 12-team College Football Playoff was the solution … it might be messier than ever.
Five-loss Duke can win the ACC. Three of the four power conferences will have championship games that feature rematches (and Alabama might have to beat Georgia a second time to stay in the field). If both BYU and Texas Tech are in from the Big 12, someone currently in the top 10 is out.
There also are still plenty of questions: Will the committee do anything with Ole Miss after Lane Kiffin’s departure? Does Miami gain ground on Notre Dame? Which are the true bubble teams?
How the committee votes in Tuesday night’s fifth ranking (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) will be a strong indicator of how the 12-team field will look on Selection Day, but it’s not the final answer.
Bubble Watch accounts for what we have learned from the committee so far — and historical knowledge of what it means for teams clinging to hope. Teams with Would be in status below are looking good ahead of the committee’s fifth ranking. For each Power 4 conference, we’ve also listed Still in the mix. Teams that are Out will have to wait until next year.
The conferences below are listed in order of the number of bids they would receive, ranked from the most to least, based on this week’s top 12 projection. Check back following the selection show for an updated version that will reflect the committee’s penultimate ranking.
Jump to a conference:
ACC | Big 12 | Big Ten
SEC | Independent | Group of 5
Bracket
SEC
Would be in: Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas A&M. Right now, the Crimson Tide are the last at-large team in the field. Alabama will face Georgia in the SEC championship game, but the committee could have a difficult decision if Alabama loses and finishes as a three-loss runner-up. The Tide would have defeated Georgia during the regular season but lost to the Bulldogs in the championship game — and they’re already in a precarious position. How far Alabama drops could determine if the SEC gets four or five teams in the field. Alabama could finish as the committee’s highest-ranked three-loss team and still be excluded from the playoff to make room for a conference champion — as they were last year.
A Georgia win should lock up a first-round bye and a top-four finish for the Bulldogs, while a loss should still put them in position to host a first-round game. Georgia beat Ole Miss, so it would be surprising to see them drop below the Rebels with a loss, even though the Bulldogs would have one more defeat. With a 35-10 drubbing of Texas also on its résumé, Georgia would still have a strong enough résumé to finish as the committee’s top two-loss team.
It will be interesting to see if Lane Kiffin’s departure affects the ranking of Ole Miss. CFP protocol states the committee will consider “other relevant factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.” Ole Miss won’t miss the playoff because Kiffin left for another job, but it could get dinged a spot or two if the committee surmises the team won’t be the same without him.
Still in the mix: Texas. The Longhorns will earn a promotion Tuesday night, but the win against Texas A&M is unlikely to catapult them into the playoff. Texas probably will be stuck behind Miami in part because of its loss to Florida, which Miami beat. Even if Texas Tech knocks BYU out of the top 12 with a win in the Big 12 championship game, bumping up both Miami and Texas, the Longhorns would still be excluded from the field to make room for a conference champion. If BYU and Alabama were knocked out with title game losses, that still probably wouldn’t be enough for Texas to get into the field, because even if Texas reaches No. 11 by default, it would still be excluded during the seeding process for a conference champion.
Out: Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Big Ten
Would be in: Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon. Both Indiana and Ohio State are CFP locks — even if they lose in the conference title game — and the runner-up will still have a strong case for a top-four finish and a first-round bye. The loser’s only loss will be to a top-two team, but it could fall behind Georgia in the top four if the Bulldogs win the SEC, and/or Texas Tech if it wins the Big 12.
The Ducks punctuated their résumé with a respectable win at Washington and should be secure in their playoff position, probably hosting a first-round game. Oregon could get a small boost this week if Texas A&M drops behind it after losing to Texas.
Still in the mix: None.
Out: Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, Wisconsin
Big 12
Would be in: Texas Tech. The Red Raiders will play BYU in the Big 12 title game and have a great case to be in the playoff regardless of the outcome. It’s highly unlikely the selection committee would drop the Red Raiders out of the field as a two-loss Big 12 runner-up — especially considering they would have a regular-season win against the eventual conference champion. It’s also possible Texas Tech earns a first-round bye as a top-four seed if the Red Raiders win the Big 12. The committee could move them into the top four on Tuesday night if Texas A&M falls out after its loss to Texas.
Still in the mix: BYU. If BYU doesn’t win the Big 12, it’s unlikely to earn an at-large bid as the conference runner-up because the Cougars are already on the bubble and would be eliminated during the seeding process if the playoff were today. It’s not impossible, though. If Alabama finishes as a three-loss SEC runner-up, it could at least open the door for debate. It could be as simple as No. 10 Alabama and No. 11 BYU flipping positions on Selection Day. The difference would be that BYU lost to Texas Tech twice, and Alabama would have defeated Georgia, the eventual SEC champ once — and it was on the road. If BYU wins the Big 12, it’s the ideal scenario for the conference because it would have two teams in the playoff.
Out: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, UCF, Utah, West Virginia
ACC
Would be in: TBD. The ACC championship game will feature Virginia and Duke, and if five-loss Duke wins, it’s possible the ACC is excluded from the playoff. If Virginia wins, it will represent the league in the playoff, as the two-loss Cavaliers are ranked in the top 20. And no, Miami did not play Duke or Virginia during the regular season. Duke lost to Tulane, which is the top Group of 5 playoff contender and will reach the playoff if it wins the American. Duke also lost to UConn. And it has already lost to Virginia 34-17 on Nov. 15.
Still in the mix: Miami. The Hurricanes will still be the committee’s highest-ranked ACC team on Tuesday night, but they would be excluded if the playoff were today to make room for a conference champion. That means the ACC winner could knock the league’s best team out of the playoff. The committee isn’t ignoring the Miami’s head-to-head win against Notre Dame, but it also isn’t comparing the Canes only to the Irish. Miami also needs to earn an edge against Alabama and BYU — two teams the committee has deemed better than Miami to this point. If both of those teams lose their respective conference championship games, it would open the door for Miami to possibly enter the 12-team field with Notre Dame.
Out: Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina, NC State, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Independent
Would be in: Notre Dame. The Irish have done everything right since their 0-2 start, running the table and doing it with consistent dominance regardless of opponent. At No. 9, the Irish are safely in the field — if they can stay there through conference championship chaos. The concern would be if Alabama won the SEC and jumped Notre Dame, pushing the Irish to No. 10 — and if BYU and Texas Tech both made the playoff. If BYU wins the Big 12, both teams are highly likely to make the playoff, which means someone currently in the top 10 would have to be excluded. The Irish will watch and wait and need to hope those two results don’t unfold.
Group of 5
Would be in: Tulane. If the Green Wave win the American, it will represent the Group of 5 in the playoff. Tulane is currently the only Group of 5 team ranked by the committee, but if North Texas wins, it would be the most likely team to reach the CFP, given the overall strength of the conference this season.
Still in the mix: James Madison, North Texas. JMU has clinched the East Division and a spot in the Sun Belt Conference championship game. North Texas will face Tulane in the American, and if it wins, it’s more likely to represent the Group of 5 in the playoff than JMU because of its schedule strength. JMU could still be considered, though, if Duke wins the ACC, giving the Group of 5 two playoff teams in the 12-team field.
Bracket
Based on this week’s projection, the seeding would be:
First-round byes
No. 1 Ohio State (Big Ten champ)
No. 2 Indiana
No. 3 Georgia (SEC champ)
No. 4 Texas Tech (Big 12 champ)
First-round games
On campus, Dec. 19 and 20
No. 12 Tulane (American champ) at No. 5 Oregon
No. 11 Virginia (ACC champ) at No. 6 Texas A&M
No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Ole Miss
No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma
Quarterfinal games
At the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential and Allstate Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
No. 12 Tulane/No. 5 Oregon winner vs. No. 4 Texas Tech
No. 11 Virginia/No. 6 Texas A&M winner vs. No. 3 Georgia
No. 10 Alabama/No. 7 Ole Miss winner vs. No. 2 Indiana
No. 9 Notre Dame/No. 8 Oklahoma winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State
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