NEW YORK – The night before the biggest start of his career yet, Carlos Rodón was a sea monster.

There was a new toy in the Rodón household: a tent-shaped submarine playhouse. Carlos’ wife, Ashley, bought the thing. Carlos built it. On this night, the two older Rodón children, Willow (5) and Bo (3), insisted that Dad play the role of the sea monster. He did so with joy.

But Rodón didn’t pull the plug completely. The Yankees pitcher watched film and read scouting reports, though preparation didn’t take up his evening.

Later that evening, with his children sleeping late, Rodón sat down at his desk to jot down some last-minute thoughts for the upcoming start. The game plan had long been decided, Rodón planned to bring the notes on Monday, just as an extra layer of preparation. At the top of a blank sheet of paper, he scribbled “KWAN,” the name of Cleveland’s dynamic leadoff hitter. Instead of writing down a plan of attack or conclusions from previous battles with the left-wing Guardians, Rodón paused for a moment.

He crumpled the paper and threw it away.

Less than 24 hours later, Rodón turned in a triumphant performance in New York’s 5–2 victory in Game 1 of the ALCS. He racked up 25 swing-and-misses, the most ever by a Yankees pitcher in a home playoff game. The left-hander went six innings, struck out nine and allowed just one run.

Juan Soto hit a solo shot in the third, his first home run in October. The Yankees took advantage of a cascade of Guardians walks and wild pitches to score three more early runs. Cleveland closed in late and pulled the game within three runs, but New York’s breakout star in October, closer Luke Weaver, slammed the door shut with a five-out save.

The home crowd, which at one point also included Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, went home happy. The Yankees, favorites on paper and payroll in this ALCS, started the series with an encouraging, if not dominant, win.

Rodón – more specifically his dramatic change in behavior – was the story of the evening.

His performance fell under the inevitable shadow of his most recent start, a disastrous implosion in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Kansas City Royals. In his first postseason start as a Yankee, Rodón looked panicky, exhausted by the weight of everything. He gave up four runs while recording only 11 outs.

He got off to a great start that night, striking out the first inning and gesticulating wildly after each punchout, reflecting the unhinged energy emanating from the Yankee Stadium crowd.

It was exciting. It was also temporary.

When Salvador Perez led off the fourth inning with a tying solo home run, Rodón came loose. His command and poise were failing him. Five batters and three baserunners later, he was out of the game and firmly planted on the dugout bench. Rodón shook his head back and forth in a mixture of disappointment and disgust, like the pendulum of a trampled grandfather clock.

In his first real taste of the big stage, Rodón had failed spectacularly, going from untouchable to awkward in the blink of an eye. The performance led to public musings about whether the pitcher’s temperament on the mound was too fickle to throw the biggest games for the sport’s biggest team. Rodón signed for six years and $162 million in December 2022 and was brought in to start Game 2s, but he fumbled against Kansas City on his first opportunity.

This narrative dominated the build-up to his start in ALCS Game 1. During his pregame media conference, Rodón parried question after question — all justified, given his previous outing — about how he planned to better manage his emotions. He talked about maintaining focus, about channeling his energy productively. He mentioned that he had been keeping a close eye on Gerrit Cole’s gem of the series in ALDS Game 4, paying particular attention to Cole’s icy stare as he walked off the mound.

Whatever Rodón did between starts, the outcome was completely different.

Five times on Monday he ended an inning with a strikeout. Not once did the expressive pitcher erupt like he did in the ALDS. He was a workman, assertive and in control. He was in charge, both of the ball game and of his emotions. Rodón avoided peaks and valleys. The Guardians managed just three hits on him: a single in each of the first two frames and a Brayan Rocchio solo home run in the sixth. Throwing with a lead certainly helped Rodón, who leaned on his fastball early and often.

Alex Cobb, whose career numbers against Soto would make a statue blush, coughed up the first run of the game on a solo shot from the reckless slugger. After missing low and inside with a pair of sinkers, Cobb tried to get one under Soto’s hands. The pitch looped back over the center of the plate and Soto rolled out, sending the poor baseball hurtling through a strong wind into the Yankees’ bullpen for a 1-0 lead.

Cobb unraveled from there, walking a trio of Yankees to load the bases. That marked the end of his night, but rookie Joey Cantillo kept the wildness going. The southpaw finished the frame, but not before another walk and two run-scoring wild pitches. From that point on, New York’s offense threw it into cruise control for the most part. A sonic boom from over 400 feet courtesy of Giancarlo Stanton in the seventh provided some cushion and a stadium full of jaws dropping. The Yankees withstood a Cleveland rally in the eighth inning to give Rodón the first postseason victory of his career.

It was an encouraging evening for the stalwart left, even if he chose to remain calm during his post-match media conference. Rodón knows the journey is far from over and that his story as a Yankee is far from written.

One spectacular display alone cannot silence the whispers – not in a city so demanding and with such a short memory. There will be more opportunities for glory or gloom. A stinker in his next start, whether in Game 5 or the World Series, Rodón would go from hero to villain in an instant. Such is life in the pressure cooker after the season.

But Rodón’s impressive performance in Game 2 was a loud reminder of why this team paid this man.

The sea monster is in there. He just needs to tame it.