Carlos Rodón proved he’s evolved beyond his old two-pitch style during the New York Yankees’ 6-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday. The left-handed starter dominated with a sharp changeup, tossing seven strong innings and earning his 17th win of the season— a career high.
This marked Rodón’s best year yet in pinstripes. He threw his changeup 32 times out of 96 total pitches, racking up 12 swings-and-misses and contributing to eight strikeouts. For the first time since 2018, he didn’t lean most on his four-seam fastball or slider. Instead, that changeup stole the show, inspired by Max Fried’s similar dominance against the Orioles two nights earlier.
Rodón scattered just four hits—two of them weak infield singles—and issued only one walk, which led to his lone run allowed in the seventh. His ERA dropped to 3.04 in his 32nd start.
“I thought Ben [Rice] called the game perfectly to set up the changeup,” Rodón said. “He handled the pitches, and I just executed. The outer lane opened up with the fastball, so I tunneled the changeup right behind it. Lucky for me, it was on point today.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone raved about the outing. “That changeup was as good as I’ve ever seen it,” Boone said. “He mixed it in a ton, but everything else worked off it too—the sinker, four-seam, even some extra life late. You see his smarts on the mound now. Just another gem in a stellar season.”
Anthony Volpe shone at shortstop for the third game in a row, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. He reached base three times, matching his output from the second time in his last four games after doing it just once in the 67 before that. Volpe also flashed improved defense since getting a cortisone shot in his left shoulder.
The performance won’t silence debates over whether Volpe or José Caballero starts at shortstop in the playoffs, but the Yankees are giving him chances to lock down the spot. “Hopefully, he’s finding his rhythm,” Boone said.
Aaron Judge took right field for the third straight game since returning from a right elbow flexor strain. The star outfielder feels better each day and pushed to play. Boone plans to let him DH on Sunday, with Giancarlo Stanton likely sitting out.
“It feels like it’s improving,” Boone said. “He’s been saying, ‘Yeah, let’s go.’ We’ll just keep taking it day by day.”
In the minors, top Yankees pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz made his Triple-A debut with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 22-year-old righty, traded from the Boston Red Sox last offseason for catcher Carlos Narváez, allowed four runs on eight hits over five innings, striking out three.
Rodriguez-Cruz had been set to start a playoff game at Double-A Somerset, but they got eliminated in two. Coming off a strong season across High-A and Double-A, he earned the promotion to Triple-A as a reward.
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