When the New York Yankees signed All-Star left-hander Carlos Rodón following the 2022 season, they likely did so envisioning that Rodón was the last piece needed to take down the rival Houston Astros.
Rodón lived up to his reputation as an Astros killer, allowing two runs (one earned) and three hits over six innings in Thursday’s 8-4 victory, helping the Yankees take two of three and a half-game lead over the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card race.
Perhaps most impressively, Rodón threw 69 of his 109 pitches for strikes and only allowed two walks. Rodón had previously walked at least four hitters in four of his eight second-half starts.
“With all those righties, I thought he used his changeup so well, and he had a good fastball to go with it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
“I thought he was really good even deep into the outing,” Boone added. “I thought he was almost getting sharper.”
Carlos Rodón is the key to the Yankees taking down the Astros
Carlos Rodón, Filthy 86mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/av1TKa251S
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 5, 2025
The Yankees and Astros are no strangers to meeting in the playoffs, though the Astros emerged victorious in all four battles dating back to the 2015 AL Wild Card Game. Houston would host New York in the best-of-three AL Wild Card Round if the postseason began today, and Rodón would likely start one of the first two games.
That’s excellent news for the Yankees, seeing as Rodón is 5-0 with a 2.42 ERA in 70 2/3 career innings against the Astros. Such a matchup also comes as Rodón easily looks the most confident he’s been since joining the Yankees ahead of the 2023 season. He’s repeatedly validated why he earned a six-year, $162 million contract, and Rodón deserves extensive praise for bolstering the Yankees’ rotation amid Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt’s elbow injuries.
Although Rodón’s walks per nine rate is a concerning 3.6 through 29 starts, he’s holding opponents to a .187 average and .598 OPS. Any team with World Series aspirations would crave a pitcher like that on the mound come October.
Plenty of Yankees fans were willing to write Rodón off after a dreadful 2023 and an inconsistent 2024, and he’s had the occasional bad start this summer. However, all is forgiven with a championship, and Rodón is positioning the Yankees to end a prolonged title drought and overcome the Astros in October.
After a challenging 2023 and an inconsistent 2024, Rodón has found his rhythm at just the right time. With the Astros’ history of postseason success against New York, a strong performance in a Wild Card matchup could cement his legacy among Yankees fans.