All you need to know about how did Grayson Rodgriguez perform in his MLB debut for the Baltimore Orioles.
Grayson Rodriguez, a top pitching prospect for the Baltimore Orioles, made his debut in the major leagues on Wednesday against the Texas Rangers and two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom. Rodriguez went five innings, struck out five batters, and left the game with the score tied.
After needing 30 pitches to get through the first inning, Rodriguez eventually found his groove after allowing back-to-back RBI hits to Adolis Garcia and Josh Jung, which resulted in Texas taking a 2-0 lead in the game. The right-handed pitcher was successful in retiring 13 of the last 15 batters he faced, including All-Star shortstop Corey Seager, whom he struck out twice.
Rodriguez, who is only 23 years old, was called up by the Orioles after the decision was made to move Kyle Gibson, the Orioles’ scheduled starter for the series finale, up a day to pitch on Tuesday in place of Tyler Wells, who wound up having to pitch in long relief on Monday. Wells was replaced by Gibson.
In the end of the second inning, he recorded his first strikeout in the major leagues against Ezequiel Duran. He got Seager to strike out in the third inning, and then he did it again to close the fifth inning on the final of his 83 pitches. Rodriguez threw 53 strikes and only walked one hitter over the course of the game.
Grayson Rodriguez, who was born in 1999, had his high school education at Central Heights in Nacogdoches, Texas. As a junior, he led Central Heights to the state championship in the 3A division by compiling a win-loss record of 14–1 with an earned run average (ERA) of 0.38. He made a commitment to play baseball for the college team at Texas A&M University.
Rodriguez was chosen by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draught. They used the 11th overall pick to make the decision. Rodriguez inked a deal with the Orioles for a salary of $4.3 million on June 12, 2018. His first two professional starts were with the Orioles of the Gulf Coast League, where he finished the season with a record of 0–2 and a 1.40 earned run average in nine appearances (eight starts).
Rodriguez was a member of the Delmarva Shorebirds in 2019, when he was recognized as an All-Star by the South Atlantic League. Rodriguez did not participate in any games during the year 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that caused the cancellation of the minor league season. In July of that year, Rodriguez participated in the 2019 All-Star Futures Game as a member of the Orioles.
At the beginning of the year 2021, he was given a position with the Aberdeen IronBirds. During the course of the season, he was elevated to play for the Bowie Baysox. Between the two teams, he made 23 starts and had a record of 9-1 with a 2.36 earned run average, 161 strikeouts, and 103 innings pitched. Rodriguez started the 2022 season with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate, the Norfolk Tides, and it wasn’t until the Orioles’ game against the Rangers that he made his debut with the major level club.
Read More:
Follow our dedicated page for MLB for instant news and updates.