It hasn't been the best year for Eduardo Rodriguez, but things could turn around in October should the Boston Red Sox indeed make the postseason via the American League Wild Card.
The left-handed pitcher has lost three of his last five starts and has given up 29 hits and 11 earned runs over that span. Rodriguez did miss all of 2020 due to myocarditis from a bout with COVID-19, but just hasn't seemed to be able to bounce back.
Rodriguez began the season on a promising path, going 5-0 in his first six starts before coming back down to earth and not earning a win from May 1 until June 27. He'll likely get one more start before the Major League Baseball regular season comes to a close, but MLB.com has a good reason for thinking Rodriguez will figure it out in October.
It's been fantastic just to see Rodriguez back healthy and on the mound in 2021, considering he missed the shortened 2020 season due to a case of myocarditis (an inflammatory heart condition) following a COVID-19 infection. But the surface-level results haven't been up to the lefty's standards (4.93 ERA). With that said, E-Rod has a career-best 3.35 FIP and a 3.64 expected ERA (based on quality of contact, strikeouts and walks), suggesting that he's pitched much better than it seems. Perhaps October is when things will even out, assuming Boston is a postseason participant.
The Red Sox will benefit from scheduling to end the season. They play the lowly Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals in the final week, while the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays -- two other teams fighting for a wild-card spot -- begin a three-game set of their own Tuesday night.
If Boston can make it to the postseason, it most certainly will need all of its pitchers to be at the top of their game.
