The Los Angeles Angels pulled off a tight 4-3 win against the Minnesota Twins last night, but it was starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez's return from the injured list that has everyone talking. Stepping back onto the mound after a bout with lower back tightness, Rodriguez battled through 5 ⅓ innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits and a walk. The kicker? He didn't punch out a single batter. Yeah, you read that right. Zero strikeouts. For a guy coming off the IL, getting the W for his team is huge, but the way he got there, that's what makes you raise an eyebrow.
The Stuff Just Wasn't There
You want to see a guy dominate in his first start back, right? Rodriguez's velocity was down a tick, sitting at 95.5 mph. And that dip meant he just wasn't fooling anyone. Out of 43 swings he induced, he only got eight whiffs. That's not the kind of "pure stuff" we expect, and it definitely shows in how the Twins made contact. They put 21 balls in play, and a staggering 10 of them were hard-hit, clocked at 95 mph exit velocity or higher. This wasn't a clean outing, not by a long shot. He ran into trouble right away, with Trevor Larnach hitting a leadoff double in the first and scoring on Kody Clemens' sacrifice fly. He cruised for a few innings, sure, but then the sixth rolled around, and it was deja vu. After getting the leadoff man, Rodriguez gave up a double and a single, putting runners on the corners. That was it for him. The bullpen had to step in, and left-hander Samy Natera Jr. let an RBI double to Brooks Lee score, plus another run on a ground out. Rough.Offense Bails Him Out Big Time
So, how did the Angels win a 4-3 game when their starter struggled so much? The bats, plain and simple. The Angels' offense woke up in the middle innings, doing some serious damage. Vaughn Grissom led off the fourth inning with a solo shot, his fifth home run of the year. This guy is locked in, going 7-for-12 in his last three games. Jorge Soler followed that up with a double and then slid to third on a ground out before scoring on a balk from right-hander Zebby Matthews. Talk about taking advantage of a mistake! Then in the fifth, they kept the pressure on. Wade Meckler singled, Tyler Heineman laid down a perfectly executed bunt single, and Zach Neto followed with another single to load the bases. Nolan Schanuel then singled in a run, and Grissom capped it off with a sacrifice fly for the Angels' fourth run. That ended up being the game-winner, clutch as heck. The Angels are now sitting at 38-57, and while a win is a win, this one leaves you scratching your head a bit. The big question now is all about Grayson Rodriguez. Was this outing just rust from being on the injured list, or is that velocity dip and the complete lack of strikeouts something to be truly worried about moving forward? Every fan will be glued to his next start to see if he can rediscover that dominant stuff he's known for.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.