ANAHEIM -- Grayson Rodriguez’s first Major League start in nearly two years didn’t quite go to plan, as the right-hander was hindered by a costly misplay at first base as part of a five-run fourth inning.
Rodriguez, making his Angels debut and his first start in the big leagues since July 31, 2024, allowed seven runs on seven hits and four walks over 3 2/3 innings in a 10-1 loss to the Dodgers in the Freeway Series finale on Sunday afternoon at Angel Stadium. After the Halos went 6-0 against the Dodgers last year, they were swept in three games and have dropped 21 of their past 26 meetings.
Rodriguez, acquired in the trade that sent outfielder Taylor Ward to the Orioles in the offseason, was activated from the injured list to make the start after he opened the season on the shelf with right shoulder inflammation. He had previously missed time with a lat strain in ’24 and had bone spurs removed from his right elbow last August.
“With rehab and stuff, there were a lot of dark days, so today was special for me just to be able to take the mound on a big league field,” said Rodriguez, who credited his faith and wife, Maddie, for helping him get back. “It came down to leaving offspeed pitches up. I thought I threw some really good pitches. That’s a really good lineup, but in big spots with runners on base, offspeed pitches were left up, they were able to put the bat on the ball and score some runs.”
After giving up two runs in the second, keyed by a pair of one-out walks, Rodriguez got through a scoreless third and was one out away from getting out of a key jam in the fourth after he gave up a two-out single to Miguel Rojas to put two runners on. Rodriguez then got Hyeseong Kim to hit a hard grounder to first baseman Nolan Schanuel, whose momentum took him toward second base but opted to turn back and throw to Rodriguez as the pitcher covered first. Rodriguez was just late getting to the bag, allowing Kim to reach on what was ruled an infield single to load the bases.
“My first instinct was to go to second but when I looked up I thought it was going to be close,” Schanuel said. “So I went back to first but I forgot who the runner was. Kim's pretty fast, so if I could go back and change it, maybe beat [Rojas] at second.”
The floodgates opened from there, as Shohei Ohtani followed with a two-run single on a first-pitch curveball before Freddie Freeman walked on four pitches. Rodriguez then gave up a two-run single to Andy Pages on a 0-1 fastball that knocked him from the game. Right-hander José Fermin came in and allowed an inherited runner to score on an RBI single from Kyle Tucker.
Rodriguez shouldered the blame for the rough inning and said it wasn’t Schanuel’s fault things got out of hand.
“All you can do is move on and look to the next batter,” Rodriguez said. “If I could have done a little bit better job with some pitches, we wouldn't have even been in that spot, so that's on me.”
It led to an unsightly line for Rodriguez, but given his tough task of facing the Dodgers in his first MLB start in 655 days, there still were some positives to take from his outing. He struck out four and registered eight swings and misses among his 79 pitches, including four with his slider.
Rodriguez's velocity was a tick better than in 2024, as his four-seam fastball averaged 96.3 mph, which was up from 96.1 mph. He also saw his fastball reach as high as 99 mph while facing Ohtani in the second inning and struck him out looking that frame with a changeup on a call that was overturned after an ABS challenge by catcher Logan O’Hoppe.
“The good thing is every pitch I threw I felt great,” Rodriguez said. “I was able to reach back and get it. Coming out of that one healthy, all we can do is just look ahead and build off of it and move forward.”
Manager Kurt Suzuki had a similar take, as he was encouraged by Rodriguez’s outing despite his rough final frame.
“I can only imagine his emotions of going through that start for the first time since '24,” Suzuki said. “I thought stuff was there. He had that one inning a little bit with command but overall, there were a lot of things to build on.”