This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ATLANTA -- The last time Randy Rodríguez pitched in front of his parents, Yesenia and Martín, he was a skinny teenager in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League, where he made his professional debut with the Giants' organization in 2018. Six years later, the family got a chance to reunite with him in the big leagues for the first time.

With his parents proudly looking on, Rodríguez cruised through a 1-2-3 sixth inning in the Giants’ 5-3 win over the Braves in Tuesday night’s series opener at Truist Park. The 24-year-old right-hander topped out at 99.1 mph while retiring Marcell Ozuna, Matt Olson and Austin Riley in order, providing a memorable highlight for his parents’ first trip to the United States.

“It feels great,” Rodríguez said in Spanish. “It’s something that I always would have wanted. It was exciting.”

The Giants work hard to arrange last-minute flights and hotels for the player's family when a Major League debut happens, but the logistics tend to be more challenging for international players.

Rodríguez’s parents couldn’t make the trip from the Dominican Republic when he debuted against the Phillies on May 4, but the Giants recently helped them secure the visas they needed to enter the United States, allowing Yesenia and Martín to make the 3 1/2-hour flight from Santo Domingo to Atlanta this week.

While the rookie reliever's parents weren’t able to witness his debut in person, they still follow each of his outings closely and remain a constant source of support from near or afar.

“They weren’t disappointed, but they were a little sad,” Rodríguez said. “At the same time, it was an achievement they celebrated even though they weren’t here. … They’ve always supported me. They’ve given me the maximum support that you can provide.”

Rodríguez is beginning to emerge as a key contributor in the Giants’ bullpen this year, logging a 4.32 ERA with 36 strikeouts over 21 appearances, including his first career start on June 25. One of the keys to his development has been learning to trust his slider, which is holding opposing hitters to a .207 batting average with 17 strikeouts in 2024.

“We’ve seen that this year,” manager Bob Melvin said. "[He's gone] from basically a fastball guy to a guy that now is throwing off-count sliders. He’s throwing some changeups, too, which makes him a little bit more unpredictable. But it’s the fact that he can throw it in all counts, where earlier in the season, especially in the spring, he wasn't able to do that. When you throw 100 mph, 98 mph, and you’re cracking off a slider in sometimes off-counts, that’s when you’re going to see bad swings.”