Jackson Chourio is one of MLB’s fastest-rising stars, but the 21-year-old Milwaukee Brewers phenom was no match Thursday for the Yankees’ Carlos Rodón. Rodón kicked off Opening Day at Yankee Stadium with a three-pitch strikeout of Chourio, getting the sophomore sensation to swing over the top of a back-foot slider. Two innings later, Rodón got Chourio to whiff on a 2-2 changeup. And in the top of the fifth, Rodón went back to the slider, using it to extinguish the swinging Chourio, again on three pitches. Three at-bats. Eleven pitches. Three swinging strikeouts. It was that kind of afternoon for Rodón, who rose to the occasion in his first Opening Day start as a Yankee. The left-hander deployed a devastating six-pitch mix in the Yankees’ 4-2 victory, limiting the Brewers to one run over 5.1 innings. He struck out seven against four hits and two walks on 89 pitches to pick up the win. “It’s good to be back,” Rodón, 32, said. “It’s been a little while, so it was nice to have the old faithful behind us again and to hear everyone in the stadium. It was electric as always here in the Bronx.” The start of the new season presented a new version of Rodón, who relied primarily on his four-seam fastball and swing-and-miss slider during his first two years with the Yankees. Rodón threw only 23 four-seamers on Thursday, with that 25.8% usage marking his lowest in an outing since 2018, according to YES Network. He threw 28 sliders and 18 changeups. But perhaps most notably, Rodón unveiled a new sinker, throwing it 10 times and recording two outs with it. “The scouting report on me the last few years has been four-seams up in the zone, sliders below,” Rodón said. “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. 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.” In 2023, 60.3% of Rodón’s pitches were four-seam fastballs and 28.9% were sliders. Those rates dipped to 49.3% and 26.0% last year, when Rodón began incorporating a changeup more frequently. His over-reliance on his fastball burned him during a summer slump last season. “I thought his slider was really good today, and that’s still going to be his calling card, but I think the changeup’s really good now,” manager Aaron Boone said. “The ability to slow it down, too, with the curveball, and then introducing that sinker … he’s capable of doing that. To have real longevity in this game as a pitcher, you’ve got to be able to evolve and adapt and probably add and subtract to your arsenal throughout the years. He’s done a good job of that.” Rodón survived a scary moment in the fourth inning, when he took a hard fall as he ran to cover first base on a Sal Frelick infield single. Afterward, Rodón said he was mostly just “mad I didn’t make the play.” “I just lost some footing and looked real unathletic there,” Rodón said. “I’m fine. I got a cherry on my knee.” Rodón then struck out the side in the fifth — a dominant inning he punctuated with his third strikeout of Chourio, who finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting last season. Chourio, who hit 21 home runs and stole 22 bases as a rookie, struck out five times Thursday against Yankee pitching. “He is a great hitter,” Rodón said. “We respect him. I’m offering off-speed. I’m not attacking him with four-seamers. I’m respecting him with other pitches. Today, I made some good pitches to him. I think all of us did.” Thursday marked the second Opening Day start for Rodón, an 11-year veteran who previously pitched in the Chicago White Sox’s 2019 opener. The Yankees turned to Rodón for this year’s Opening Day after ace Gerrit Cole underwent season-ending elbow surgery this month. Rodón is now in the third season of a six-year, $162 million contract. He struggled with injury and inconsistency in his first season with the Yankees, pitching to a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts in 2023. He delivered a resurgent season last year, going 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA over a career-high 32 starts. Rodón’s third act in pinstripes is off to a strong start. “He’s capable of that right there and more sometimes,” Boone said of Thursday’s performance. “I just want him to really focus on his job every single day, and that’s not just the day he pitches. Now, it starts the process to when he’s out there in six days, I think, with the two off days. I just want him to focus on that, and if he does that, the results will handle themselves.” ...read more read less