Grayson marks return to Camden with best start as an Angel

BALTIMORE -- Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez had his start against his former club circled on his calendar. He made the most of it with his best outing of the season.

Rodriguez, who was acquired by the Angels in an offseason trade that sent outfielder Taylor Ward to the Orioles, went a season-high seven strong innings in a 3-1 loss on Tuesday night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

It was a familiar setting for Rodriguez, who showed plenty of promise in 2023 and ’24 with Baltimore before injuries caused him to miss the last two months of the ’24 campaign and all of the ’25 season.

“It was a lot of fun,” Rodriguez said. “It was weird, it kind of felt almost normal. It was a lot of fun hearing those guys chirping from the dugout over there. That was definitely pretty funny.”

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Rodriguez allowed two runs on just three hits and one walk while striking out six. He hadn’t gone more than 5 2/3 innings in any of his previous 10 outings this year, and he hadn’t lasted seven frames since June 26, 2024. The six strikeouts also tied a season best.

“I thought he was awesome,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “He’s been working on his mechanics and grip stuff, and things are coming together and progressing. Every start, he’s a little better.”

Rodriguez has been shaking off the rust after missing time due to a lat strain in both 2024 and ’25 as well as surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow last August. He also opened this year on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, and he missed a month with a lower back strain sustained in mid-June.

But Rodriguez has worked to refine his mechanics in recent weeks to regain his form during his time in Baltimore, when he had a 4.11 ERA in 43 starts, including 259 strikeouts in 238 2/3 innings. He has said he believes he’s just one good start away from turning things around, and his showing against his former club could get him going in the right direction to finish the season.

The 26-year-old is also still under team control for three more years, so this season is more about getting him back on track.

“We've been putting in a lot of work in the bullpens,” Rodriguez said. “That’s finally starting to show, which I'm excited about. But still got some ways to get back to what feels normal to me.”

Like the Angels, who dealt away five players on Monday, the Orioles were sellers at the Trade Deadline and were reeling after the trade of franchise cornerstone Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox, while Ward was also traded to the Mariners. Rutschman caught Rodriguez 33 times during their time together in Baltimore, and Rodriguez still has plenty of friends playing for the Orioles, so he knew what they were going through.

But Rodriguez took advantage of it, and his lone blemish came in the third when he allowed a two-run single to Pete Alonso with one out. He lost his command that inning, walking a batter and hitting another, while the single came on a first-pitch slider over the middle.

“I ran into trouble there in the third inning, but otherwise it was just filling up the zone and making them put it in play,” Rodriguez said. “I’m continuing to get the delivery synced up, which I think is big. The changeup being there helped a lot, and I’m finally getting a feel for it.”

Otherwise, Rodriguez was sharp, and he didn’t run into trouble again until his final frame, when he allowed a one-out bloop triple to Coby Mayo. But he got Christian Franklin to hit a grounder to shortstop Zach Neto, who fired home for the second out. Franklin stole second, but Rodriguez struck out Colton Cowser looking to end his outing.

“He had good stuff tonight,” Mayo said. “It was fun facing him. I’m sure he was a little amped up to be here, which he should be.”

It was a good sign from Rodriguez, as he stayed sharp despite tying a season high with 98 pitches (69 strikes). He also threw 21 first-pitch strikes to the 26 batters he faced, which was an improvement.

“It’s just the aggressiveness in the zone,” Rodriguez said. “I think a lot of it goes to delivery, being synced up and having a repeatable motion to home plate. This is the big leagues. If you are behind every count to start off, it's really hard to pitch in this league. Strike one is huge.”