Eduardo Rodriguez started the Major League Baseball season off hot after missing his first start, but things since has taken a turn.
The Red Sox pitcher dropped his fourth straight start in Boston’s 11-2 loss to the Houston Astros on Monday afternoon at Minute Maid Park. Rodriguez won five of his first six starts, but hasn’t picked up a W since May 7.
Rodriguez didn’t have a lot of control and couldn’t locate his pitches well over the course of his 4 2/3 innings.
“He just hasn’t put it all together,” manager Alex Cora told reporters over Zoom after the game.
Cora is confident the southpaw indeed will get back on track, and believes he just needs one more adjustment to how he threw the ball Wednesday. If Rodriguez can do that, then he’ll be in a good spot.
“I told Eduardo that if he throws the ball like he did today with one more adjustment, you’ll be in a good place,” he said.
Rodriguez, despite having confidence from his manager, wasn’t making excuses for another less-than-stellar start.
“I made mistakes with all my pitches,” Rodriguez told reporters. “It’s been tough for me the last four starts. It’s just a grind right now.”
You probably remember that Rodriguez missed all of 2020 due to myocarditis, but he knows last year has nothing to do with this year.
“It’s just about location right now. I have 10 starts already,” Rodriguez said. “I’m not going to blame missing last year. It’s just something I’ve got to go in the bullpen and work on.”
Now we wait and see if the proper adjustments were made come his next start.
Here are some other notes from Monday’s Red Sox-Astros game:
— This was the first time Cora returned to Minute Maid Park since allegations emerged about sign stealing in 2017. But regardless of the team the Red Sox played, it’s still not a good feeling to lose.
“It’s not comfortable when you go out there and you get beat,” Cora said. “You’ve got to take the positive and you’ve got to work on the negatives.”
— Some positives that came from the game were Hunter Renfroe’s offense and Rafael Devers’ defense.
Renfroe was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, which came by way of a solo home run, while Devers made a nice play, complete with a spin move, at third.
— Colten Brewer’s one inning of work probably is one he’d like to forget.
The right-hander gave up four earned runs and as many hits with three walks.
— The Red Sox can get back in the win column Tuesday night when they continue their four-game set against the Astros at 8:10 p.m. ET. You can catch all the action beginning at 7 p.m. on NESN.
