Yankees' hopes of winning 2024 World Series will likely come down to Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón
NEW YORK -- Pitching, pitching, pitching -- it's what ultimately wins in the playoffs. At least, that's what the old adage says.
The New York Yankees may just have enough of it to win their first World Series crown in 15 years and their 28th in the franchise's illustrious history, even against an offense as impressive as what the Los Angeles Dodgers hope to deploy. That is, if their top two starters do what many expect.
Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón were signed to massive-money contracts in the hopes of becoming co-aces, shutdown workhorses who would be counted on to take a lot of pressure off the Yankees' lineup and prevent the bullpen arms from being overused.
During the first two rounds of this season's playoffs, Cole and Rodón were good but not great. They are likely going to have to be exceptional to shut down the likes of former MVPs Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, plus a handful of other hitters the Dodgers are supremely confident in.
It all starts Friday night when Cole takes the ball in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium.
See the full schedule for the Yankees-Dodgers 2024 MLB World Series here.
Gerrit Cole hasn't been Gerrit Cole, yet
When Cole signed his nine-year, $324 million contract with New York prior to the 2020 season, fans and many media types were saying only multiple championships could justify such an investment. Of course, baseball rarely, if ever, works that way. But nearly five years into his deal, this is his best opportunity to prove once and for all he was worth it.
Manager Aaron Boone said earlier this week that's not even up for debate.
"He has been everything we could have hoped when we brought him here," Boone said. "He has been one of this era's aces. Obviously, he's had a great career. He's on a Hall of Fame track, beat us in 2019 with Houston, and he obviously walked in here with a lot of expectations and a lot of weight on him to be the ace of our staff and he has been every bit of that."
One look at Cole's regular season and it would be easy to have some concerns. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner missed the first 75 games due to right elbow inflammation, and when he came back it took quite a while to build up his stamina and refine his arsenal.
The 34-year-old right-hander ended up 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts. He followed that up with a win and a pair of no-decisions in the postseason series wins over the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians, posting a 3.31 ERA over 16 1/3 innings.
The highlight was a seven-inning, one-run performance in New York's 3-1 ALDS-clinching win over Kansas City in Game 4. Cole made big pitches when he had to. It was a much better showing than in Game 1, when he allowed four runs -- three earned -- over five innings in the Yankees' 6-5 win.
Cole only pitched once in the five-game ALCS win over Cleveland, giving up two earned over 4 1/3 innings in Game 2.
Again, good but not vintage Cole.
When he looks more like his usual dominant self, Cole elevates his riding fastball and works on the inside half of the plate to set up the slider away. Expect him to try to do the same against the Dodgers.
"He has had those moments of truth and tough moments that he has been so good at answering throughout his time with us," Boone said. "He has proven himself to be a big-game pitcher, and we're obviously blessed to be able to give him the ball to get this thing started."
Cole's postseason record -- 11-6 with a 2.98 ERA in 20 starts with three teams -- suggests there is no stage too big for him. He has never won a World Series, but has made it clear all he has ever wanted to do is win one with the Yankees, the team he grew up in Southern California rooting for.
"This is a dream come true. The is a really wild experience, to be honest. It probably hasn't sunk in all the way," Cole said Thursday night. "I mean, the challenge in big games is to make them no bigger than they really are. It's the same game that we have been playing all year."
As for navigating the Dodgers' minefield of a lineup, Cole said, "You are not really sure what the opposition is going to do, and you know they are lethal when they do swing. I think they are going to get their hits at some point in this series. Just try to control what you can control in that situation. That's just preparing as you normally do and throwing as many convicted pitches as you can."
Carlos Rodón may be under even more pressure
Rodón will start Game 2 on Saturday night, looking to continue some momentum he built in the ALCS.
After posting 14 wins and a sub-3.00 ERA for the San Francisco Giants in 2022, a body of work that led to him signing a six-year, $162 million deal with the Yankees, Rodón's first season in the Bronx was a nightmare filled with injuries and wild inconsistency as he went just 3-8 with an unsightly 6.85 ERA in 14 starts.
However, the 31-year-old left-hander engineered a nice turnaround in 2024, showing along the way he can do it all when he's on. He finished his bounce-back campaign 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA in 32 starts. Perhaps his most impressive stats were allowing just 157 hits while striking out 195 in 175 innings.
Like Cole, Rodón throws a variety of pitches, but gets his best results by using his four-seam fastball early in the count to set up his hard slider and changeup.
Unlike in the ALDS against Kansas City, when he started quickly and then fell apart in Game 2, most of those pitches were on full display in the next round against Cleveland. Rodón made two starts and allowed just three earned runs while striking out 15 and walking just one over 10 2/3 innings.
He said Thursday night he has plenty of experience to handle what will certainly be a raucous crowd at Chavez Ravine.
"I've pitched in Dodger Stadium before," Rodón said. "I think it's going to be similar [as to] when you're in a Giants jersey, but a little louder, obviously a lot more on the games. But I think it's going to be a fun atmosphere. It's going to be a fun experience and the goal is obviously to go out there and win the baseball game. So that's kind of what I'm most focused on."
Expect the Yankees to trot their two best pitchers out there at least four times if it ends up being a very long Fall Classic.