Rodriguez feels he's making progress, even if results aren't there yet

SAN FRANCISCO -- After his first start of the second half, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez said he believed he needed just one strong start to build on to turn things around.

Rodriguez, though, is still looking for that outing, as he scuffled again in a walk-off 7-6 loss in 10 innings to the Giants in the series opener on Friday night at Oracle Park. Rodriguez lasted just four innings, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks as his ERA climbed to 8.54 in nine starts this season. But he said was encouraged by improved mechanics after working this week to try to recapture his form from 2024 with Baltimore.

“My delivery was much better,” Rodriguez said. “The line doesn't really show any progress to be made, but for me, this was a big week in getting back into a delivery that I had in '24 and the bullpen leading up to this was good. And then tonight, I felt like I did those things right. I felt like my stuff played better.”

It’s clear that Rodriguez is still working his way through some rust after not previously pitching in the Majors since July 31, 2024. Rodriguez, who was acquired in an offseason trade that sent outfielder Taylor Ward to the Orioles, dealt with injuries -- including a lat strain in both ’24 and ’25 -- and underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow last August.

He also opened this year on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation before returning in mid-May, only to sustain a lower back strain in mid-June that caused him to miss a month.

Rodriguez, though, has been in the rotation since July 10 and seems likely to get a shot to figure things out the rest of the way, especially if the Angels decide to trade lefty Reid Detmers or right-hander José Soriano. The 26-year-old Rodriguez also does have Minor League options if the Angels would rather see him iron things out in the Minors, but he doesn’t seem to be in imminent danger of being sent down just yet.

“Obviously, I'm pretty upset about that outing,” Rodriguez said. “It sucks. It’s been tough because this is not how I pitch, and this is not the standard that I hold myself to. But being able to take the good out of it, you just got to keep stacking it.”

He still has solid stuff, although his fastball velocity was down a tick against the Giants, averaging 95.1 mph compared to his season average of 96.1 mph. His four-seamer hurt him in two key situations that changed the game, as he served up a two-run homer to Rafael Devers in the first and a three-run blast to Casey Schmitt in the third.

“Obviously, a couple balls that he left up in the zone were mistakes that got hit,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “You're getting away with those things when you're going good. Right now, the mistakes are getting hit. But his offspeed stuff was a lot better tonight. He threw some good sliders, some better changeups, so there's a lot of positives in there.”

The homer from Devers came after Rodriguez fell behind 2-1 and threw a 96.2 mph heater right over the middle, while Schmitt’s came on a 1-1 fastball that registered 96.3 mph on the inner part of the plate. Schmitt’s also came after the Angels intentionally walked Devers with two outs.

Otherwise, Rodriguez limited the damage with the help of two double plays, but still had trouble finishing hitters. He needed 80 pitches to get through four frames and threw first-pitch strikes to just four of the 18 batters he faced.

“Being a starting pitcher, you got to be efficient,” Rodriguez said. “And throwing first-pitch strikes is a big part of that.”

His outing spoiled a strong showing from the offense, as the Angels scored four runs against Giants ace Logan Webb, keyed by a leadoff triple from Zach Neto in the first and a two-run triple from Tyler Heineman as part of a three-run fifth.

Vaughn Grissom tied the game with a two-run shot off reliever Jason Foley in the eighth after Kirby Yates gave up a run to the Giants in the seventh. But the Angels struggled with runners in scoring position the last two innings, including Oswald Peraza getting thrown out at third in the 10th while trying to tag up on a fly ball to center fielder Grant McCray. It ended on a walk-off single from Devers off Chase Silseth.

“Devers is getting paid $300 million to do that,” Suzuki said. “It was a tough night.”