E-Rod puts it together as rare bright light

On a Red Sox starting rotation that costs almost $90 million, the most effective and consistent of the five is also the least expensive.

Eduardo Rodriguez, who will start vs. the Royals tonight, is having the breakout season the Red Sox have been waiting for.

Even if it doesn’t look the way they dreamed it up.

“Coming into last season, I knew he was very talented,” manager Alex Cora said. “We knew the stuff. I think it’s more about him trusting the stuff, trusting that these are your best pitches, just throw them. He gets creative here and there, but I think overall, he’s understanding who he is.”

It was back in 2015 when he was hired to replace Ben Cherington that Dave Dombrowski said of Rodriguez, “He’s got a chance to be a No. 1-type of pitcher.”

Over four years, the lefthander only teased the Sox with moments of brilliance thanks to a high-90s heater and one of the game’s best changeups.

“In the beginning, he wasn’t able to get lefties out,” Cora said. “That was huge. That was a big problem for him and for us. But little by little, that’s the difference between him early in the season and now. He has a lot of confidence. Coming into the season, he was healthy for the first time. he was in great shape — the best shape of his life.”

This year, he’s put it together, though not in a way that’s allowed him to dominate and be the ace Dombrowski once envisioned. The stats aren’t all beautiful: 135⅓ innings, 4.19 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 139 strikeouts and 50 walks.

Instead, he’s become a quality innings eater.

“For me it’s something I’ve been trying to do a long time ago,” said Rodriguez, making $4.3 million this year, his first of three in salary arbitration before he’s eligible to be a free agent. “Just go out there and give innings. That’s all I want. To be healthy and go out there and throw as many innings as I can.”

He’s taken the mound for the start of the seventh inning 10 times in 23 starts.

Last year? He did that just twice in 23 starts.

“We joke with him, actually, you know the saying, ‘five and die?’” Cora said. “There’s no more of that. He’s actually looking to go more. The other day, he wanted to face one more hitter. I decided no, and I explained why, but I like the fact that he’s not shying away from it. he wants to be that guy.

“I think it started going into Minnesota in June. We needed him to go deep into the game because we were very limited in the bullpen and against a good lineup and he wasn’t great that night but he knew that we needed innings and he did, and he ended up winning that game. He’s been great this season and he’s still learning, that’s the cool thing about it.”