Carlos Rodón worked through a sharp at-bat by mixing speeds and locations to mess with the hitter’s timing. It started with a slider high, followed by a fastball away that was called a strike. The hitter, Jonathan India, didn’t agree, thinking it was way outside. Rodón stayed calm and switched to a changeup, and India swung hard like he expected heat. Yankees catcher Jose Trevino and shortstop Carlos Correa noticed that and decided to stay off-speed. They sent another changeup, which India barely made contact with. The ball dribbled out weakly and didn’t go anywhere. India got frustrated. Rodón took that moment and dialed up a 96 mph fastball that India fouled off, setting up the rest of the sequence.
With the count set up, Trevino ran through pitch options. Rodón shook off everything—slider, fastball, changeup—until he settled on his curveball. He threw his hardest curve of the night, a sharp breaker that caught India off guard. It was a smart sequence starting from pitch one to the final curve. Rodón controlled the at-bat the whole way, using tempo and variety to keep India guessing.