Rodriguez fires 100+ mph stuff in return to O’s

BALTIMORE — Grayson Rodriguez walked into the Orioles’ clubhouse at Camden Yards on Monday afternoon and shortly acquired a handshake and an embrace from Gunnar Henderson. Rodriguez exchanged nods with Colton Cowserafter which, quickly after, he was getting wrapped up in a hug from Kyle Gibson.

The O’s had been completely satisfied to have Rodriguez again. The 23-year-old right-hander was happier to be there — in Baltimore, within the large leagues and taking the mound for MLB’s hottest group.

Rodriguez got here out amped up, throwing the eight hardest pitches of his 11-start Main League profession — all between 100 and 101 mph, per Statcast — throughout a scoreless first inning vs. the Dodgers. From there, nevertheless, his outing adopted a little bit of a well-known path.

Within the sixth, Rodriguez didn’t retire any of the three batters he confronted. Quickly after, right-hander Bryan Baker gave up a go-ahead grand slam to Chris Taylor, the turning level in Baltimore’s 6-4 lossa defeat that snapped the O’s season-high eight-game profitable streak.

The brilliant spot for the Orioles was the encouraging early outcomes for Rodriguez in opposition to a difficult Dodgers lineup — even when he nonetheless didn’t full six innings for the primary time in his large league profession.

Over the primary 5 frames, Rodriguez scattered 5 hits and a stroll, whereas permitting just one run as Baltimore constructed a 4-1 lead.

“I assumed he threw the ball rather well,” supervisor Brandon Hyde stated. “I assumed the command was improved. I assumed the stuff was glorious.”

Rodriguez’s stuff has at all times been glorious, although. That wasn’t the explanation for the previous high prospect being despatched all the way down to Triple-A Norfolk on Might 27, as he routinely flashed a high-octane fastball and plus breaking pitches throughout his first stint within the large leagues earlier this season.

However Rodriguez wanted to point out higher command of his arsenal. With a purpose to try this, he needed to regain confidence, which he stated he did throughout his time again within the Minors, permitting him to hold that into his begin Monday evening.

“Simply having the ability to return to Norfolk and collect myself, and get again to the pitcher that I do know I’m, and that’s throwing quite a lot of fastballs,” Rodriguez stated. “That’s one thing we had been in a position to do tonight. Left a number of over the plate there within the sixth, however aside from that, it was just a little bit higher than once I was up right here earlier than.”

All the pieces about these feedback from Rodriguez is true. He threw quite a lot of four-seamers (45 of his 91 pitches). He pitched higher than he did in lots of his earlier large league outings. However he additionally made some errors on the finish.

The sixth started with Freddie Freeman hitting a triple to left-center subject, as middle fielder Aaron Hicks couldn’t fairly make a leaping seize on the wall. Then, Will Smith singled in Freeman to chop Baltimore’s result in 4-2. Smith superior to second on a wild pitch, then Max Muncy adopted with a stroll.

At that time, Rodriguez’s evening was over. He was charged with 4 earned runs, as he was accountable for two of the runners on base (Smith and Muncy) when Taylor took Baker deep with the bases loaded later within the inning.

The Orioles, who had been held scoreless by the Dodgers’ bullpen over the ultimate 4 innings, weren’t happy with their first loss since July 4 at Yankee Stadium. However the O’s appreciated the vast majority of what they noticed from Rodriguez.

“He regarded superb,” Baker stated. “I used to be actually impressed with the way in which he was attacking the zone, and clearly, his stuff speaks for itself.”

Added Hyde: “He threw the ball actually, rather well. I’m actually enthusiastic about him.”

The sequence opener vs. the Dodgers represented essentially the most high-stakes atmosphere Rodriguez has pitched in throughout his baseball profession. The Orioles (57-36), attempting to safe their first postseason berth since 2016, nonetheless path the Rays (60-37) by only one game within the American League East race after Tampa Bay endured a walk-off loss at Texas on Monday evening.

Rodriguez is happy he might get a chance to assist Baltimore play its means into the postseason. And the O’s, hopeful that Rodriguez can present a lift to the again finish of their rotation, could proceed to offer him an opportunity to do exactly that.

“Once I was in Norfolk watching all of the video games, I nonetheless felt like I’m part of the group. Now that I’m again, I’m simply attempting to assist the group win some video games,” Rodriguez stated. “It’s going to be a enjoyable stretch right here within the second half.”