Boston Red Sox Mound Notes: Eduardo Rodriguez hurls dominance vs. Tigers

The Boston Red Sox needed a good start from Eduardo Rodriguez, and they got a gem from the lefty in a 11-4 victory against the Detroit Tigers.

If Boston Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez pitched all his games against the Detroit Tigers, he would be a Cy Young candidate.

On Wednesday, the Red Sox hurler continued his good fortune against the Tigers with a stellar performance on the mound in leading his team to a 11-4 victory that snapped the team’s two-game skid.

Coming into the game, Rodriguez had two solid starts under his belt after struggling to start the season.  Like his fellow starters in the rotation, he is starting to find his groove and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the now 10-15 Boston Red Sox.

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Allowing just two hits and a run while striking out seven in six innings pitched, Eduardo Rodriguez was simply masterful on the mound.  He mixed up his pitchers and had the Tigers lineup off balance while he was on the mound.

Besides confidence, Rodriguez credited Dustin Pedroia for actually giving him some good tips on his pitching, including a new grip on his pitch, which the young lefty used for the first time Wednesday night.

"“It’s funny,” Rodriguez said following the game, via MLB.com.  “Because four days ago, I was talking with Pedey in the dugout and he told me, ‘Hey, do you want to throw a really good breaking ball? I was like, ‘Yeah, bro, I’ve been battling to throw a breaking ball since I got here in the big leagues, since I was in the Minor Leagues.’“He told me throw the ball like this and hold it like that, and two days ago I started throwing it with my knee over there, and it’s funny, because the first time I threw that kind of breaking ball was today and it was working.”"

It certainly was working and adding an effective breaking ball to his repertoire could just be what Rodriguez needs to piece it all together and become the reliable, consistent pitcher the team has been looking for in him for the past three seasons.

Alex Cora heaps praise on Rodriguez

Wednesday night’s performance heaped praise from Eduardo Rodriguez’s toughest critic, his manager Alex Cora.

Following the game, Cora had nothing but compliments for the southpaw who is now 2-2 on the season.

"“Outstanding, outstanding,” Cora said, via NESN.  “His last three, stuff-wise, really good.  In command of the situation, getting people out in the strike zone, mixing up his pitches, location.  He’s been good for us.”"

In a game the team really needed, it was also special to see Rodriguez compete at a high level.  The only question is whether he can string together more starts like the one on Wednesday night.  If he does, the Boston Red Sox will find themselves in a good position as the season wanes forward.

Hopefully, this is not just another tease.

"“He’s in command and you guys know I’m hard on him,” Cora continued.  “Everybody is because we know how good he can be and it’s good to see him compete at this level this way.  And we expect him to do that every time.  He goes out there, go deep into games and dominate.”"

Rick Porcello looks to continue momentum

With Eduardo Rodriguez’s solid performance against the Tigers, the Boston Red Sox seem to have their starting pitching on track.

On Thursday night, Rick Porcello will look to continue that momentum against his former team.

Like Chris Sale, Porcello is still in search of his first win of the season and build on his last performance against the Tampa Bay Rays in which his allowed just two runs while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings.

He will face off against Tigers righty Jordan Zimmerman who also posts an 0-3 record on the season.