Eduardo Rodriguez’s breaking ball has looked particularly sharp of late, and he might have an unlikely source to thank.
Dustin Pedroia, of all people, recently suggested a new curveball grip to the left-hander, who dazzled in his next start after chopping it up with the Boston Red Sox second baseman. Rodriguez turned to his off-speed stuff quite a bit last Wednesday in what arguably was his best outing of the season: a six-inning effort in which he allowed one run on two hits with seven strikeouts against the Detroit Tigers.
It turns out Pedroia was mostly joking when he offered the breaking ball advice to Rodriguez, but that didn’t stop the young southpaw from taking it in and finding success.
“When I was growing up, I have small hands, so my curveball was terrible,” Pedroia said, per The Eagle Tribune’s Chris Mason. “So the (youth coach was) like, ‘Just hold the bottom of the ball because your hands aren’t big enough to get on top of it and rotate. So I’d just hold the bottom and throw it. It’d pop out and spin that way.
“So I was messing with Eddy, I’m like, ‘This is how I threw my curveball.’ He goes, ‘Was it good?’ I said, ‘Yeah it was good when I was 10.’ Just one of those deals. I’m like, ‘Try it out, man.’ And he tried it and he loved it. So who knows?”
Rodriguez tipped his cap to Pedroia while speaking to the media after the game, which caught the four-time All-Star by surprise.
“The next day I’m like, ‘What the hell are you doing, man?’ Damn,” Pedroia laughed.
Who knows, maybe Pedroia can help Chris Sale start to find his stride.
