LOS ANGELES — Carlos Rodón will start Game 2 of the World Series for the Yankees on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, and Clarke Schmidt is set to start Game 3 when the showdown shifts venues to Yankee Stadium on Monday night.
Rodón will aim to help the Bombers even the Fall Classic after they fell, 6-3, in a drama-packed Game 1. Having posted a 4.40 ERA in three starts this postseason, the left-hander will square off against Dodgers rookie right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Rodón’s best start came in the American League Championship Series opener against the Guardians on Oct. 14 (one run on three hits and no walks in six innings, with nine strikeouts).
“This lineup’s pretty potent,” Rodón said on Friday about the Dodgers. “They can definitely swing it, and they have a good idea what the strike zone is. Just kind of carrying that demeanor coming into tomorrow, just trying to stay focused on pitch by pitch and giving my team the best chance to win.”
Rodón bounced back from a rough 2023 with a 3.96 ERA and 10.03 strikeouts per nine innings this season, his second after signing a six-year, $162 million deal with the Yankees.
“Last year was hard. I mean, it wasn’t easy,” Rodón said. “I had a goal coming into this year that I just wanted to be confident and go out there and try to make every start I can. I think it has worked out thus far, but there’s one more thing that I know me and my teammates want to do.”
The Dodgers announced Walker Buehler will start opposite Schmidt, who has made two starts this postseason. The right-hander has allowed two runs over 4 2/3 innings in each outing, one in the AL Division Series and one in the ALCS.
“I feel like I’m almost in the driver’s seat as far as emotions go, just getting to watch Gerrit [Cole] and Rodón, kind of seeing what the environment is like,” Schmidt said. “We know it’s going to be high stress, and the intensity is going to be at another level, but being able to watch these guys … you get a peek behind their game plan a little bit.”
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