Carlos Rodon delivers what he promised as Guardians gift wrap ALCS Game 1 to the Yankees

Ultimately, the Guardians could give the Yankees a tough test over the course of the ALCS.

That didn’t happen in Game 1.

The Yankees didn’t exactly overrun their latest AL Central foe, but they did, taking advantage of four wild pitches and striking out just enough to ensure Carlos Rodon’s dominant performance in a 5-2 win over the Guardians on Monday night wasn’t in vain in the Bronx.

Rodon rebounded strongly from his ALDS disappointment, pitching one-run ball for six innings with nine strikeouts (seven via his slider) and 25 whiffs. He accomplished his goal of maintaining his composure after failing to do so against the Royals last week and got the Yankees off on the right foot in the ALCS.

The Yankees were unable to open the game because they were 0 of 7 with runners in scoring position – making them 6 of 42 in five playoff games – but they did enough to get by.

In addition to solo homers from Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees drew seven walks and scored three runs, thanks in large part to Guardians reliever Joey Cantillo – Cleveland’s newest version of the Wild Thing – throwing four wild pitches.

After Soto gave Alex Cobb a 1-0 lead in the third inning, the right-hander walked the bases and was thrown out of the game. Cantillo came in and fired two fastballs that allowed Aaron Judge and then Stanton to score from third to make it 3-0. One came during an at-bat by Anthony Rizzo, who went 1-for-3 with a walk in his first game back after breaking two fingers 16 days ago.

Cantillo came back for the fourth inning and walked Gleyber Torres, then threw two more wild pitches to Soto, allowing Torres to steal third and score on Judge’s sacrifice fly, making it 4-0.

In the sixth inning, the Guardians finally cracked the scoreboard against Rodon when No. 9 hitter Brayan Rocchio fielded an inside fastball and drilled it for a solo home run that cut the deficit to 4-1.

But Rodon didn’t let his night derail because of a long ball – as he did in the ALDS when Salvador Perez beat him deep – and retreated from the top of the Guardians lineup to end his night in style finish.

On a night where he finished five of six innings with a strikeout, Rodon gave himself plenty of opportunities to display his emotions but instead kept them inside, which worked to his advantage.

Stanton then gave the Yankees some breathing room in the seventh inning by firing a rocket of a home run into the back wall of the Guardians bullpen. The 439-foot shot gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead and continued a monstrous postseason for the veteran DH.

The Guardians got it back in the top of the eighth inning against left-hander Tim Hill, thanks in part to an obstruction call. With one out and a runner on first, Rocchio threw a ball out of the glove of the diving Rizzo and landed in right field. Rocchio ran against Hill, covering first base as he rounded the bag and again as he returned to it. Hill had the ball in his glove the second time and tagged Rocchio, but the umpires called the pitcher for interference, sending Rocchio to second.

Steven Kwan came next, blasting a single through the left side to make it 5-2, marking the first earned run allowed by the Yankees’ bullpen this postseason.

Aaron Boone then called on Luke Weaver for a five-out save that gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the series.