NEW YORK — That’s why the Yankees are paying Carlos Rodón $162 million over six years: to have a top-notch poker face.

Rodon’s biggest challenge in taking the mound for Game 1 of the American League Championship Series wasn’t navigating Cleveland’s dangerous lineup. Rodón’s greatest enemy was actually himself.

If the veteran allows his emotions to take control of his trip, things can quickly get out of hand. That’s what happened in his first start this postseason against the Royals; He got overwhelmed too soon and too often — sticking out his tongue and gaping after a strikeout in the first inning — and allowing his concentration to be distracted from the task at hand. He was retired after allowing four earned runs in just 3.2 innings against Kansas City.

But he learned a lot in the week between his next playoff start. He studied Gerrit Cole, received advice from Andy Pettitte and said he would do better next time. Still, it’s one thing to do all the preparation, but another to actually execute it on the mound – in a playoff start, no less.

In his team’s 5-2 win over the Guardians on Monday night at Yankee Stadium, the fiery left-hander finally eclipsed his career 11.37 postseason ERA and threw a confident pitch.

“The goal was to stay in control,” Rodón said. “Stay in control of what I can do physically and emotionally. I thought I did a good job tonight.”

He was humble. Rodón struck out nine batters and allowed just one run on three hits in six innings, keeping his emotions in check each time. But it was easy to see that this was a fight for Rodón. Being unreactive doesn’t exactly come naturally to him. He seemed to put as much effort into controlling his emotions as he did his pitching diet of fastballs, sliders, curveballs and changeups. Instead of responding to the crowd’s raucous energy with something of his own, Rodón rolled his shoulders back and left his head on the mound. The southpaw recorded 25 swings and misses.

He was locked up and it manifested.

Rodón’s only blemish of the night was a home run off Brayan Rocchio to lead off the sixth inning. But there was no collapse. He didn’t look confused as he watched Rocchio’s long ball sail over the left field wall. He retired the next three batters and ended his outing by aiming his glove at Aaron Judge, who fired a rocket off José Ramírez’s bat in the bottom of the sixth. Rodón sent the Guardians’ thug to the ground all three times he faced him.

“I think he was very aware of how the last game ended and how the emotions drained from him early,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said. “That should be the focus for him the whole game. Every inning you could tell he was trying to stay calm and neutral and just keep racking up outs.”

While Rodón went to work, the Yankees kept going. Juan Soto hit his first postseason home run as a Yankee by putting in the third inning new York on the board with a 1-0 lead. Giancarlo Stanton added security in the seventh with his second home run of the postseason, which was his 13th career playoff jack since 2018. Stanton posted a 1.244 OPS in five postseason games this October. But while Soto, Stanton and Aaron Judge all collected RBIs in the Game 1 win, it was Rodón who changed the game.

“Tonight he was the driver,” Stanton said of Rodón. “Juan got us going on offense, but Carlos suppressed it and gave us the chance to score and do more.”

Rodón did not achieve this image of balance alone.

A few days after the Royals realized his emotions were running high and sent him packing in the fourth inning, Rodón sought advice from Pettitte, the former Yankees southpaw and five-time World Series champion, about keeping a good poker face on the mound . Pettitte, currently a consultant with the Yankees, won 63.3% of his postseason decisions by, among other things, refusing to let opponents see his thoughts and feelings. Rodón said Pettitte’s advice made an impression.

As Cole dominated the Royals in Kansas City last Thursday, Rodón leaned against the dugout railing, closely watching his every reaction. Captivated, Rodón kept his eyes on Cole even as the drama between Anthony Volpe and Maikel Garcia unfolded at second base. Rodón watched as Cole became excited, not allowing the situation to ruin his strong performance.

“You can tell he’s a little angry,” Rodón said of Cole. “But he just keeps it in perspective and gets back on the mound. They end up scoring a run, but he leaves them with one run. The biggest thing I saw from him in the seventh was that he didn’t respond to everyone. “When you watch him come out, it’s like a robot going to the dugout. It’s a big roar at the end of the seventh quarter because he knows I did my job that start.”

Rodón tried to be like Cole the robot against Cleveland, and for the most part he was. His six innings of one-run ball were not only important for the Yankees taking a 1-0 series lead over the Guardians early in the ALCS, but also a huge response to the criticism manager Aaron Boone received for doing so He took first place with Rodón in the ALCS. Since Cole had scheduled four days of rest for Game 2, Boone had the choice of right-hander Clarke Schmidt or Rodón in the series opener. Cleveland was the AL’s third-best offensive team against lefties during the regular season, so no one would have blamed Boone if he had decided to use Schmidt in Game 1.

But Rodón was signed by the Yankees for moments like Monday; a packed house of 47,264 in the Bronx, doing his part alongside Cole as the rotation’s deadly one-two punch while also giving account to the zoo that is the New York media.

The mental and physical flow that Rodón recognized in Game 1 was the elixir for the terrible postseason ERA he brought into Monday night’s game. That’s exactly what the Yankees expected from Rodón when they made him the highest-paid pitcher of the 2023 free agent class. After making just 14 starts last year due to injury, posting a terrible 6.85 ERA, this was the year Rodón got his contract. He appeared noticeably leaner at the start of spring training, then stayed away from the dugout all season, rebounding to a career-high 3.96 ERA in 32 healthy starts and 175 innings pitched.

Rodón’s 26 weeks as a workhorse regular-season starter helped the Yankees get to this point, especially when Cole missed the first two months with an elbow injury. But Rodón can give the Yankees a bigger and more important boost by repeating this routine in his next game.

The Yankees are just three wins away from advancing to the World Series. Rodón can count on one hand how many times he’ll need his poker face.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Deesha, the daughter of Indian immigrants, grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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