Rafael Devers Hopeful To Homer Off Eduardo Rodriguez, Strikes Out Instead

Eduardo Rodriguez’s sore left knee doesn’t appear to be bothering him too much.

The Boston Red Sox southpaw fell during live batting practice and was dealing with soreness. He was scratched from his start Saturday, but threw live BP Monday.

But not without a friendly bet with his teammate.

Rafael Devers told Rodriguez he wanted to go yard against him, while the lefty had something else in mind.

“Early today, when we got here, I tell him, ‘Bro, you want to face me today?’” Rodriguez said, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “He tell (me), ‘I want to hit the ball out of the ballpark.'”

But Rodriguez told Devers, “I’m gonna strike you out.”

So, who won the bet?

Rodriguez by a long shot, striking out Devers five (!) times during his live batting practice.

“I surprised myself with the command and everything,” Rodriguez said. “Body-wise, I know I was feeling good and ready to go out there today. Body-wise, command, pitches, velocity, everything was there. And I was feeling great.”

That’s certainly good news and hopefully is a good omen for what’s to come for Rodriguez in 2020.