Pirates reliever Richard Rodriguez dominant, fueled by demotion

Richard Rodriguez pitched so poorly in his first major league action the Baltimore Orioles took the almost-unprecedented step of scrapping him from their September active roster in 2017.

Keep in mind, rosters are unlimited in September in the majors.

So, when Rodriguez followed a mostly spectacular 2018 for the Pittsburgh Pirates with immense struggles again early this season, perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the dominant RichRod of 2018 is suddenly back.

“When players struggle, you need to find a way to — I use the term all the time — push the straw back in,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said Friday. “It’s like the scarecrow. Push the straw back in them, get the confidence back in them.”

Consider Rodriguez, right now, to be overflowing with secure, self-assured straw.

Richard Rodriguez ? ? ? #Pirates

— Brian (@bes121) July 17, 2019

The right-handed reliever had another strikeout in a high-leverage situation Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies to continue a 20-inning scoreless streak that was the longest in the majors. He needed just three pitches to retire Maikel Franco and end the sixth inning, stranding J.T. Realmuto on third. Rodriguez allowed a run the following inning, however, which was the first time he was scored upon since May.

Rodriguez, when his streak began, had a 6.45 ERA and allowed nine home runs in 22¹/₃ innings to that point of the season.

“Getting to this level can provide with a lot more opportunities, (but) also a lot more distractions,” Hurdle said. “So, (did Rodriguez) try to take it a step up from last year? Maybe he tried to … “OK, a couple different areas, I think I can improve upon, as well.’ And maybe lost the footing that he had about his pitching.

“I think the assortment just kind of got filtered in different ways, and then the execution just wasn’t anywhere close to last year’s, for whatever reason.”

???

Richard Rodriguez now has 12 straight scoreless appearances, and his 79 Ks are the most by a Pirates rookie reliever since 1993 (Minor, 84). ? pic.twitter.com/weeLkxjeYV

— Pirates (@Pirates) September 17, 2018

Finally, after allowing four home runs and 14 runners over a 7¹/₃-innings stretch in early May, the Pirates had no choice but to take Rodriguez off the roster. While it wasn’t September, the demotion was almost as telling as the Orioles’ option because the Pirates were decimated by injuries to pitchers and practically were auditioning unproven arms from Triple-A.

So Hurdle and the rest of the Pirates’ brass turned to an old tool that’s been effective for them in recent years when dealing with struggling players: sitting them down and getting them away from baseball to clear their heads.

“He wanted to go down (to Indianapolis) and pitch,” Hurdle said. “And … I told him, ‘No. No. Don’t. Do not touch a ball for three days.’ ”

Rodriguez was reluctant about that at first. But in retrospect, Hurdle said Rodriguez has told him, “he’s most thankful of that.”

Rodriguez followed orders in avoiding baseball for three days. He eventually threw, and a couple days after that, appeared in an International League game against Louisville. He promptly allowed yet another home run.

Two days later, though, Rodriguez struck out three in two scoreless innings.

Truth be told, it was more necessity than Rodriguez showing he’d turned things around that compelled the Pirates to recall him for a Memorial Day doubleheader. And Rodriguez’s turnaround in the majors wasn’t immediate, either: He was tagged for a homer and four runs in the ninth inning of a loss to Milwaukee on May 30.

But since then, its’ been lights-out.

Entering Friday, opposing hitters had just 16 hits and a .514 OPS against Rodriguez since his appearance June 2. In that time, right-handed hitters have been limited to eight singles and one walk with 12 strikeouts in 49 plate appearances against Rodriguez. That complements Rodriguez’s numbers against lefties last season (.155 average against, striking out more than a third of them).

“He’s a smart guy who is learning, still,” Hurdle said.

“So where he takes it from here (nobody knows, but) we told him, ‘Just don’t try to overcook it. Where you are at right now is a really good spot.’ Proud of him.”

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