Cleveland Guardians' Johnathan Rodriguez Delivers Game-Winning RBI on 1st MLB Hit

Johnathan Rodriguez just became the fourth Cleveland Guardians player in the last 60 years to drive in a late-inning go-ahead run on the first hit of his MLB career.

Mar 2, 2024; Goodyear, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Johnathan Rodriguez (67) bats against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Goodyear Ballpark. / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Johnathan Rodriguez came up empty in his first few at-bats with the Cleveland Guardians, but the rookie finally came through in a big way Wednesday afternoon.

Rodriguez went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in his MLB debut Tuesday. By the time he came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning against the New York Mets on Wednesday, he was 0-2 with another strikeout.

The Guardians had dug themselves out of an early 3-0 hole, though, and Rodriguez found himself at the plate with one out, a man in scoring position and the score tied.

Rodriguez slapped a single through the right side for his first major league hit, driving in David Fry to put Cleveland on top 4-3.

According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, it marked the fourth instance of a Guardians or Indians player recording a go-ahead hit in the seventh inning or later for their first career hit since the start of the expansion era in 1961. Jason Kipnis and Ezepuiel Carrera both did so in 2011, but before them, Nigel Wilson had been the only one to achieve the feat back in 1996.

It turned out to be a game-winning RBI for Rodriguez as well, with Cleveland adding a few insurance runs in the eighth to secure the 6-3 victory.

go-ahead hit in the 7th or later for first career hit, Cleveland players to debut in expansion era (1961):

Today Johnathan Rodriguez
7/25/11 Jason Kipnis
5/20/11 Ezequiel Carrera
9/8/96 Nigel Wilson

h/t @EliasSports https://t.co/0wJMjpJT0p

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 22, 2024

The Guardians drafted Rodriguez in the third round in 2017. While he was never the most highly-touted prospect in the organization, MLB Pipeline ranked the Puerto Rican slugger as the No. 16 player in Cleveland's farm system just last week.

The 24-year-old outfielder has logged 512 games in his minor league career, as well as 124 games in foreign league play. He is averaging 35 home runs per 162 games in the minors since the start of 2022.

Now that Rodriguez has notched his first MLB hit, he can set his sights on his first MLB home run.

The Guardians, riding a six-game winning streak and two consecutive sweeps, have Thursday off but will return to action Friday against the Los Angeles Angels. First pitch is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. ET.

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