Rodriguez posts best MLB start in victory over Padres
SAN DIEGO — With Grayson Rodriguez’s elite stuff, it’s often said he throws gas. On Monday night, he showed he has plenty left in the tank.
The 23-year-old Orioles righthander posted the best start of his major league career to open a series with the San Diego Padres, allowing a run over a career-high seven innings in a 4-1 victory to continue a run of excellence since rejoining Baltimore’s rotation last month. A dramatic ninth inning saw former Orioles star Manny Machado come up representing the tying run, but Baltimore closer Félix Bautista got him to ground into a double play to end the game.
After consistent struggles in Rodriguez’s first 10 outings prompted the Orioles (74-45) to send their top pitching prospect back to Triple-A Norfolk, he has returned with a 3.03 ERA over six starts. He’s pitched into the sixth inning in each after doing so only once while posting a 7.35 ERA in his first big league opportunity.
“I feel more like myself,” Rodriguez said. “That first stint in the big leagues, I don’t like to say that was me.”
The Orioles emphasized improved fastball command during Rodriguez’s return to the minors, with manager Brandon Hyde saying he saw that pitch left in the middle of the zone too often. Each of the three hits Rodriguez allowed Monday came on that pitch — including Garrett Cooper’s sixth-inning solo shot, the first home run Rodriguez has surrendered since his return — but it was likewise a dynamic weapon for him. His 38 fastballs averaged 98.9 mph, the highest for an Orioles starter since pitch tracking began in 2008. He credited “summertime” for the uptick.
“Ever since 2019 in Low-A to Bowie to everywhere else, I think August has been my best month for (velocity), so we’re gonna keep that going,” Rodriguez said. “Hopefully, we’re gonna carry that into September and when October gets here.”
Between Triple-A Norfolk and the majors, Rodriguez has thrown almost 20 more innings than he had in any previous season, but he seems to be heating up along with the weather.
“Just such a huge difference when he came back,” Hyde said. “Those guys did a great job down there (in Norfolk), pitching guys here, Grayson himself. Just an amazing job of the delivery’s better, it’s better tempo in the delivery, the command’s better with his fastball. He’s pitching with way more confidence.”
Gunnar Henderson, like Rodriguez a Baltimore rookie surging at the right time, cleared the bases with a three-run double in the fifth, giving his starter plenty of breathing room. Cooper’s home run to open the sixth ended a run of 11 straight Padres (56-63) retired by Rodriguez, but he responded by striking out San Diego’s next three batters.