NEW YORK -- The Yankees entered the day intending to keep the Rays from celebrating an American League East title as long as possible.
Carlos Rodón did his part and then some.
Rodón looked playoff ready with eight scoreless innings, and Cody Bellinger belted a two-run homer as the Yankees defeated Tampa Bay, 2-0, in the first game of Tuesday’s separate-admission doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.
“Health-wise, I feel good, and the confidence is good,” Rodón said. “As you know, in the playoffs, anything can happen. You get the best out of everyone, so it’ll be fun.”
The victory was the 100th of Rodón’s career. He recorded his 1,500th career strikeout by fanning Jonny DeLuca in the eighth inning.
“In the moment, I had no idea what was going on,” Rodón said. “I was just like, ‘People are clapping. All right, cool.’ It’s cool. 1,500 is nice, so hopefully I can keep going.”
Had they won, the Rays would have briefly acknowledged clinching the division, then celebrated in wilder fashion after the second game.
Rodón made it a moot point, as no batter reached second base against him, scattering three hits while facing the minimum through six frames. He also did not walk a batter.
“His command was elite today,” said catcher Ali Sánchez. “I felt that everything was working well. When I caught him in the bullpen, he was commanding everything. I felt that it was going to be a great day.”
The outing matched Rodón’s longest as a Yankee; he also completed eight innings on July 11, 2025, against the Cubs. Rodón credited the contributions of Sánchez, who he said was “great” behind the plate.
“We were on the same page,” Rodón said. “For him to slot in there, I think I’ve thrown to him a few times. He was impeccable behind the dish.”
Likely to begin the playoffs by hosting the Red Sox in the American League Wild Card Series, the Yankees have yet to announce their rotation plans.
But with Boone stating he expects Gerrit Cole to start and AL Cy Young Award frontrunner Cam Schlittler and Max Fried also in the mix, Rodón could be waiting to start Game 1 of a potential AL Division Series against the Rays.
“I don’t really look ahead that much at it,” Boone said. “Every game is its own game. I feel like Carlos is throwing the ball really well right now. Today is as good a time as any time that he has.”
Boone said Rodón would not start on Sunday vs. the Orioles, suggesting he’ll complete his fourth year as a Yankee with a 7-3 record and a 2.67 ERA in 16 regular-season starts.
“His fastball is in a better place than it was last year, which was a great season for him,” Boone said. “We’ve seen, over the last couple of years, he has really developed as a pitcher. He can beat you in different ways.”
In a contest that made up a May 23 rainout, Rodón outpitched Nick Martinez, who allowed two runs and five hits over six innings. Martinez lost for the first time since Aug. 18, lamenting his pitches to Bellinger and the Ben Rice double that preceded it.
“It wasn’t a great-executed pitch to either of those guys, and those are two guys that are for sure going to capitalize,” Martinez said.
Bellinger’s homer was his 17th of the season and fifth in his last dozen games. He also helped in the field, doubling off Victor Mesa Jr. on Richie Palacios’ sixth-inning flyout.
“I saw him at second base starting to run back to first,” Bellinger said, “so at that point, I just wanted to make a good throw to [first baseman Luis] García [Jr.] there.”
David Bednar completed the shutout, working the ninth for his 35th save in 39 chances. At two hours and two minutes, the contest was the Yankees’ quickest of the season.
“Just a really solid, quick win,” Boone said.