Rodriguez's long-awaited D-backs debut ends in success

CLEVELAND -- Wednesday was a day that D-backs fans waited 244 days to see.

Eduardo Rodriguez made sure to make the wait worth it.

After missing the first four months of the season with a lat injury, Rodriguez made his long-awaited debut for Arizona worth it, allowing just three runs on four hits across 5 2/3 innings in a 5-3 win against the Guardians at Progressive Field, completing a doubleheader sweep after a 7-3 win in Game 1.

“I was really happy and excited for Eduardo,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “The fact he came in and made quality pitch after quality pitch on a day where you need some length.”

General manager Mike Hazen and the rest of the front office spent most of the Winter Meetings negotiating with Rodriguez and his camp; so much so that the news of the signing officially broke after most of the D-backs representatives had left the Winter Meetings.

After having to throw a bullpen game in last year’s National League Championship Series and World Series, Hazen entered the Winter Meetings with starting pitching as a priority. In the end, that led them to a four-year pact with Rodriguez, who had a 3.30 ERA in 26 starts with the Tigers in 2023.

But it took them a long time to see their investment on the field. About halfway through Spring Training, Rodriguez went down with a lat injury that led to him starting the season on the injured list.

While Rodriguez was initially confident the injury wouldn’t keep him out for long, he aggravated it during the rehab process, which pushed his return back to August.

Rodriguez opened the game with seven straight fastballs in a 1-2-3 first inning. His first blemish came in the second inning when he gave up a home run to David Fry on a fastball that caught too much of the plate.

Then in the fourth inning he surrendered a run on a sacrifice fly. An inning later, José Ramírez sent a cutter 394 feet into the left field bleachers.

While Rodriguez undoubtedly wants those pitches back, it doesn’t take away from the fact that he pitched well enough to help the D-backs win their 12th contest over the past 14 games.

“I was very grateful he went into the sixth inning and gave us a chance to maneuver,” Lovullo said.”

Rodriguez came in with a pitch count of around 65 pitches and he ended up hitting that exact mark: 26 fastballs (40%), 16 changeups (15%), 10 cutters (15%), eight sinkers (12%) and five sliders (8%).

“It’s what I remember, it’s a very clean and easy delivery,” Lovullo said. “He knows right where it’s going. He takes it personally when it doesn’t go where he wants.”

His batterymate was rookie Adrian Del Castillo, who had about as smooth of an MLB debut as you could have. Not only did he immediately get his first hit out of the way with a booming RBI double to center field in the second inning, but he caught the entire game and helped an eight-year veteran navigate his first start back -- a performance that helped him earn a post game shower of beer, among other substances.

“Catching was a little more nerve-wracking,” Del Castillo said. “[Rodriguez] has his own plan and he’s a veteran guy -- he knows what he’s good at. We were talking in the dugout and getting on the same page. He was spotting almost every pitch and tunneling them exactly where he wanted them.”

That game plan earned him rave reviews from his skipper.

“He was so good,” Lovullo said. “After the second inning I took my eyes off of him.”

Rodriguez’s start was backed up by an offensive showcase from Josh Bell, who slugged two homers against Guardians starter Carlos Carrasco. He only hit two home runs in 50 games at Progressive Field during his stint with the Guardians last season.

The multi-homer game makes Bell the first player in D-backs history to have two multi-homer games within their first six games with the team.

With their win in Game 1, the D-backs secured their seventh straight series win for the first time since 2018, and now enter a crucial series against the Phillies in the driver’s seat in the NL Wild Card race.

“We’re ready to go from pitch one,” said Brandon Pfaadt, who pitched in the D-backs’ Game 1 win. “Our offense is putting up great numbers and our defense is following suit.”