ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
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.”
Ohio State opened as a 9.5-point favorite over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, per ESPN BET odds.
If that line holds, it would be tied for the second-largest spread in a CFP national championship game and the fourth largest in the CFP/BCS era. Georgia was -13.5 against TCU in the 2022 national championship, while Alabama showed -9.5 against none other than Ohio State to decide the 2020 campaign. Both favorites covered the spread in blowout fashion, combining for a cover margin of 63.
Notre Dame is 12-3 against the spread this season, tied with Arizona State (12-2) and Marshall (12-1) for the most covers in the nation. The Irish are 7-0 ATS against ranked teams and 2-0 ATS as underdogs, with both covers going down as outright victories, including their win over Penn State (-1.5) in the CFP national semifinal.
However, Notre Dame was also on the losing end of the largest outright upset of the college football season when it fell as a 28.5-point favorite to Northern Illinois.
Ohio State is 9-6 against the spread and has been a favorite in every game it has played this season; it has covered the favorite spread in every CFP game thus far, including in its semifinal win against Texas when it covered -6 with overwhelming public support.
The Buckeyes also have been an extremely popular pick in the futures market all season. At BetMGM as of Friday morning, OSU had garnered a leading 28.2% of money and 16.8% of bets to win the national title, checking in as the sportsbook’s greatest liability.
Ohio State opened at +700 to win it all this season and is now -350 with just one game to play.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Quinshon Judkins ran for two touchdowns before Jack Sawyer forced a fumble by his former roommate that he returned 83 yards for a clinching TD as Ohio State beat Texas28-14 in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday night to advance to a shot for their sixth national title.
Led by Judkins and Sawyer, the Buckeyes (13-2) posted the semifinal victory in the same stadium where 10 years ago they were champions in the debut of the College Football Playoff as a four-team format. Now they have the opportunity to be the winner again in the debut of the expanded 12-team field.
Ohio State plays Orange Bowl champion Notre Dame in Atlanta on Jan. 20. It could be quite a finish for the Buckeyes after they lost to rival Michigan on Nov. 30. Ohio State opened as a 9.5-point favorite over the Irish, per ESPN BET.
“About a month ago, a lot of people counted us out. And these guys went to work, this team, these leaders, the captains, the staff,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “Everybody in the building believed. And because of that, I believe we won the game in the fourth quarter.”
Sawyer got to Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers on a fourth-and-goal from the 8, knocking the ball loose and scooping it up before lumbering all the way to the other end. It was the longest fumble return in CFP history.
Ewers and Sawyer were roommates in Columbus, Ohio, for the one semester the quarterback was there before transferring home to Texas and helping lead the Longhorns (13-3) to consecutive CFP semifinals. But next season will be their 20th since winning their last national title with Vince Young in 2005.
Texas had gotten to the 1, helped by two pass-interference penalties in the end zone before Quintrevion Wisner was stopped for a 7-yard loss.
Judkins had a 1-yard touchdown for a 21-14 lead with 7:02 left. That score came four plays after quarterback Will Howard converted fourth-and-2 from the Texas 34 with a stumbling 18-yard run that was almost a score.
Howard was 24-of-33 passing for 289 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Ewers finished 23-of-39 for 283 yards with two TD passes to Jaydon Blue and an interception after getting the ball back one final time.
Bill McCartney, a three-time coach of the year in the Big Eight Conference who led the Colorado Buffaloes to their only national football title in 1990, has died. He was 84.
McCartney died Friday night “after a courageous journey with dementia,” according to a family statement.
“Coach Mac touched countless lives with his unwavering faith, boundless compassion, and enduring legacy as a leader, mentor and advocate for family, community and faith,” the family said in its statement. “As a trailblazer and visionary, his impact was felt both on and off the field, and his spirit will forever remain in the hearts of those he inspired.”
After playing college ball under Dan Devine at Missouri, McCartney started coaching high school football and basketball in Detroit. He then was hired onto the staff at Michigan, the only assistant ever plucked from the high school ranks by Bo Schembechler.
Schembechler chose wisely. As the Wolverines’ defensive coordinator during the 1980 season, McCartney earned Big Ten “Player” of the Week honors for the defensive scheme he devised to stop star Purdue quarterback Mark Herrmann.
“When I was 7 years old, I knew I was going to be a coach,” McCartney told The Gazette in 2013. “My friends, other kids at that age were going to be president, businessmen, attorneys, firemen. Ever since I was a little kid, I imitated my coaches, critiqued them, always followed and studied them.”
In 1982, McCartney took over a Colorado program that was coming off three straight losing seasons with a combined record of 7-26. After three more struggling seasons, McCartney turned things around to go to bowl games in nine out of 10 seasons starting in 1985, when he switched over to a wishbone offense.
His 1989 team was 11-0 when it headed to the Orange Bowl, where Notre Dame dashed Colorado’s hopes of a perfect season. McCartney and the Buffaloes, however, would get their revenge the following season.
After getting off to an uninspiring 1-1-1 start in 1990, Colorado won its next nine games to earn a No. 1 ranking and a rematch with the Fighting Irish. This time the Buffaloes prevailed, 10-9, and grabbed a share of the national title atop the AP poll (Georgia Tech was tops in the coaches’ poll).
McCartney won numerous coach of the year honors in 1989, and he was also Big Eight Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1990. His teams went a combined 58-11-4 in his last six seasons before retiring (1989-94).
The Buffaloes finished in the AP Top 20 in each of those seasons, including No. 3 in McCartney’s final year, when the team went 11-1 behind a roster that included Kordell Stewart, Michael Westbrook and the late Rashaan Salaam. That season featured the “Miracle in Michigan,” with Westbrook hauling in a 64-yard TD catch from Stewart on a Hail Mary as time expired in a win at Michigan. Salaam also rushed for 2,055 yards to earn the Heisman Trophy.
McCartney also groomed the next wave of coaches, mentoring assistants such as Gary Barnett, Jim Caldwell, Ron Dickerson, Gerry DiNardo, Karl Dorrell, Jon Embree, Les Miles, Rick Neuheisel, Bob Simmons, Lou Tepper, Ron Vanderlinden and John Wristen.
“I was fortunate to be able to say goodbye to Coach in person last week,” Colorado athletic director Rick George, who worked under McCartney and was a longtime friend of his, said in a statement. “Coach Mac was an incredible man who taught me about the importance of faith, family and being a good husband, father and grandfather. He instilled discipline and accountability to all of us who worked and played under his leadership.
“The mark that he left on CU football and our athletic department will be hard to replicate.”
McCartney remains the winningest coach in Colorado history. He retired at age 54 with an overall record of 93-55-5 (.602) in 13 seasons, all with Colorado.
He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. His family announced in 2016 that McCartney had been diagnosed with late-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s.
“Here’s what football does: It teaches a boy to be a man,” McCartney told USA Today in 2017. “You say, ‘How does it do that?’ Well, what if you line up across from a guy who’s bigger, stronger, faster and tougher than you are? What do you do? Do you stay and play? Or do you turn and run? That’s what football does. You’re always going to come up against somebody who’s better than you are.
“That’s what life is. Life is getting knocked down and getting back up and getting back in the game.”
In recent years, McCartney got to watch grandson Derek play defensive line at Colorado. Derek’s father, Shannon Clavelle, was a defensive lineman for Colorado from 1992-94 before playing a few seasons in the NFL. Derek’s brother, T.C. McCartney, was a quarterback at LSU and is the son of late Colorado quarterback Sal Aunese, who played for Bill McCartney in 1987 and ’88 before being diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1989 and dying six months later at 21.
Growing up, Derek McCartney used to go next door to his grandfather’s house to listen to his stories. He never tired of them.
When playing for Colorado, hardly a day would go by when someone wouldn’t ask Derek if he was somehow related to the coach.
“I like when that happens,” Derek said.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.