In some respects, Carlos Rodón starting Opening Day resembled a worst-case scenario.
The Yankees ace is gone for the year, a reality that might have fully sunk in on fans as Gerrit Cole was introduced before the game and walked onto the field with his arm in a brace.
Luis Gil will be sidelined for months, and the Yankees did not want to greatly alter Max Fried’s throwing schedule.
So the choice was Rodón, whose performance amounted to a nearly best-case scenario.
The lefty began his third year with the Yankees looking a bit different and as strong as he has in his tenure, dealing into the sixth inning of a 4-2 Game 1 win over the Brewers in The Bronx.
Rodón allowed one run (on a Vinny Capra home run in the third) on four hits and two walks while striking out seven. In his best years, he just about only threw fastballs and sliders.
In his worst year — the injury-filled 2023 in his debut season in pinstripes — he used the same arsenal.
In his bounce-back but not excellent 2024, he expanded his repertoire to become a more complete pitcher.
On Thursday, he used six distinct types of pitches — showing off a new sinker, an improved changeup and mixing in a curveball and one cutter — in an outing that showed how a 32-year-old, 11th-year pitcher is trying to evolve as he ages.
“The scouting report on me the last few years has been four-seams up in the zone, sliders below,” Rodón said after his 89-pitch first step. “And I’m sure the plan as a hitter was to try to cover the fastball, push me down in the zone, cover the fastball and react to sliders.
“So I think the broadening of the repertoire and adding a few other pitches that move a little different and the change of speeds — it definitely makes it less predictable.”
He was less predictable and more dominant than he was last season, in part because the deep pitch mix helped to set up what still is his best pitch: a biting slider that Milwaukee could not figure out.
Brewers batters swung 15 times at the offering and missed nine, a putaway pitch that constantly worked.
“I thought his slider was really good today … and that’s still going to be his calling card,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But I think his changeup is going to be really good.”
Rodón had everything working in his debut except his footwork.
The scariest moment of the game for a Yankees team that already is far too shallow in pitching depth arrived in the fourth, when the speedy Sal Frelick hit a sharp grounder to first.
Paul Goldschmidt fielded and flipped to Rodón, who sprinted to the base, could not find it and lost the footrace — then lost his balance, tumbling to the dirt.
A trainer checked on him, but Rodón said he was more mad at himself than hurt.
“I lost my footing and looked real unathletic there,” Rodón said to laughs on an afternoon that, all things considered, could have gone far worse.
