On Sept. 22, Carlos Rodón delivered eight scoreless innings, tying his longest outing with the Yankees and lowering his season ERA to 2.67. He struck out Tampa Bay's Liam Hicks on a slider set up by four-seamers, bolstering his playoff case, though a rotation spot is not assured.
Against Hicks, Rodón opened with two 93 mph four-seamers on the outside edge, both taken for called strikes. After a slider missed low and Hicks fouled off another fastball, Rodón finished him with a slider that looked like a strike before breaking down and away. The article says the pitches' similar appearance out of Rodón's hand made the slider difficult to recognize.
Across his last eight starts, Rodón had a 1.67 ERA and allowed two or fewer runs in each. The writer says he could miss the playoff rotation unless the Yankees advance, with Cam Schlittler starting early and Gerrit Cole and Max Fried appearing likely to get the other two Wild Card Series starts. Tampa Bay's win in Game 2 of the doubleheader ended New York's AL East title hopes.
