Rodriguez impresses in debut, but O’s fall to deGrom, Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas — Since Grayson Rodriguez was selected in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft, the pitcher, the organization and fans have spent the past four and a half years envisioning what the 6-foot-5 righthander would look like in an Orioles uniform.

His major league debut wasn’t supposed to take this long. He was primed for a call-up last season as he dominated Triple-A batters, but a lat muscle injury sidelined the consensus top-10 prospect for three months. Rodriguez was then expected to make the Orioles’ opening day roster, but the team chose instead to start him in Norfolk after his uneven spring training.

Nevertheless, Rodriguez’s big league debut Wednesday was well worth the wait.

The 23-year-old impressed against the Texas Rangers in the 5-2 O’s loss. After struggling in the first inning and giving up two runs, Rodriguez pitched four scoreless frames and looked every bit worthy of the hype.

“There was a lot of nerves that first inning,” Rodriguez said. “Really couldn’t feel the baseball. Having the first inning, getting it out of the way was pretty special. Then going out in the second and just being able to get after it.”

“I’m really happy for him,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “You only give up two runs on the road in five innings and left with the score tied. He did a great job. Great first experience and only get better from here.”

Rodriguez, a Nacogdoches, Texas, native, had a large contingent of friends and family from his hometown in attendance, cheering him on from behind the third base dugout at Texas’ Globe Life Field as he took the mound and for all 15 outs he recorded.

“I grew up watching the Texas Rangers,” said Rodriguez, whose hometown is about three hours away from Arlington. “A lot of memories at the old ballpark. Getting to come and throw here was pretty special.”

He was promoted Wednesday morning to start the series finale, replacing starting pitcher Kyle Bradish on the 26-man roster after the second-year right-hander was put on the 15-day injured list with a bruised right foot he suffered in Monday’s win.

Hyde said before the game he wanted to see the youngster “calm down his emotions” and pound the strike zone, especially with his fastball. So, naturally, Rodriguez walked the first batter of the game, missing high on a 3-2 fastball to Rangers leadoff hitter Marcus Semien. But he didn’t walk another batter in his five innings while striking out five.

“I think there was just nerves that first inning, but from the second inning on the fastball command was a lot better,” Hyde said. “He wasn’t yanking his slider as much, just really did a nice job of keeping guys off balance and attacking the strike zone.”

Rodriguez allowed three of the first five batters to reach base, with the Rangers barreling up his pitches as he struggled with his offspeed command. Adolis García and Josh Jung hit an RBI double and single, respectively, and Texas had an early 2-0 lead.

The inning was starting to get away from Rodriguez, whose Achilles’ heel in his final three spring training starts was his inability to get out of jams and end innings before they unraveled. But he got Robbie Grossman to ground out to second base to end the frame on his 30th pitch.

“Got a little nervous there in the first inning [that he] might not get out of it,” Hyde said. “He was really excited and real jumpy. I thought he did a great job of settling down.”

Rodriguez said the lengthy first inning felt like he was “on an island” as he hoped to record that third out.

“That’s all I was trying to do was just get out of it,” Rodriguez said. “Not letting it pile up, kind of snowball. Just being able to make a pitch there late and getting a ground ball.”

Including that final out, Rodriguez retired 13 of his final 15 batters after the rough start, allowing just two singles in his final four frames, inducing six groundouts and striking out five.

He retired the side in order in the second, earning his first major league strikeout with a wipeout slider to Ezequiel Duran. Semien led off the third with an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error by third baseman Gunnar Henderson, but Rodriguez recorded three consecutive outs to escape the threat. He struck out two more batters in the fourth and then ended his debut with a punchout of star shortstop Corey Seager on a 96.9 mph heater.

“Being able to strike somebody out like that is pretty special,” Rodriguez said.

He surrendered four hits and two runs with just one walk on 83 pitches (53 strikes) in his five-inning no-decision pitching opposite two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom. Rodriguez averaged 96.5 mph on his electric fastball, topping out at 98.2 mph. He got 14 swings and misses — eight fastballs, four sliders, one curveball and one changeup — on 44 swings for an elite 32% whiff rate.

The Rangers’ ace, meanwhile, was even more dominant, as expected given his pedigree that earned him a $185 million contract this offseason. Allowing just two hits and striking out 11 in six innings, he showed that a legitimate No. 1 starter is a difference-maker. The Orioles won the first two games of the series by allowing just eight hits and two runs combined, but deGrom got the Rangers back on track. The Orioles are hoping that Rodriguez, in due time, could deliver the same results.

“That was a lot of fun to watch,” Rodriguez said of deGrom. “That’s one of baseball’s best. It was pretty fun to go up against him.”

After Rodriguez’s exit, reliever Austin Voth took the loss after allowing a two-run home run in the sixth, and Keegan Akin gave up an RBI double in the seventh for a run that was charged to Voth. The Orioles (3-3) scored two in the fifth on a fielder’s choice by Austin Hays and an RBI single by Adam Frazier. Frazier’s single and Ryan Mountcastle’s double to lead off the fifth that broke up deGrom’s perfect game were the Orioles’ only two hits of the afternoon.

With Bradish on the shelf for the next two weeks at least, the Orioles have to decide how to fill his spot in the rotation until he’s eligible to come off the IL in mid-April. Rodriguez, who pitched one game in Triple-A last week after losing the battle for the No. 5 spot in the rotation to Tyler Wells, is an option to stay in the rotation, but Hyde won’t commit to that yet.

“We have not gotten that far yet,” he said. “If they want to give me another start,” Rodriguez said, “I’ll be ready for it.”