The Yankees do not know who they will be facing in the American League Division Series, but on Wednesday morning, they announced their starting rotation for the best-of-five series, which will begin on Saturday at Yankee Stadium against either the Baltimore Orioles or Kansas City Royals.
The Yankees will trot out Gerrit Cole for Game 1 on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium followed by Carlos Rodon for Game 2 on Sunday. As it stands, Game 3 will be either Luis Gil or Clarke Schmidt with the decision seemingly to be made by the scenarios of Games 1 and 2. Pitching coach Matt Blake said Schmidt will be an option out of the bullpen, which would give Gil the ball in Game 3.
Despite having a down year that was first delayed by an injury and then featured an inordinate amount of issues knocking off the rust that came with the long layoff, Cole is still the Yankees’ ace, meaning the $324 million man will get the ball on these stages until he proves he does not deserve it.
He went 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 2024 but had been especially good during the latter portions of the season. In his final 10 starts, the veteran right-hander posted a 2.25 ERA while averaging six innings per outing — even with a seven-run shellacking at the hands of the Boston Red Sox on Sept. 14 factoring into the stat line.
Cole’s postseason performance as a Yankee has been inconsistent. Since joining New York, he has a 3.41 ERA in the playoffs.
Like Cole, Rodon has ridden a hot second half of the season to secure his spot as the Yankees’ No. 2 starter in the postseason, which was the initial expectation when they signed him two winters ago. After posting a 4.63 ERA through his first 20 starts of the season, the southpaw went 7-2 with a 2.91 ERA in his final 12 outings.
This will be Rodon’s first postseason with the Yankees and his previous experience on this stage has been limited and concerning.
During Game 3 of the 2020 AL Wild Card while with the Chicago White Sox, he came in as a reliever against the Oakland Athletics and did not record a single out, allowing two runs before getting the hook. A year later, in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Houston Astros, his start lasted 2.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits.
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