Eduardo Rodriguez Just Had One Of Diamondbacks' Strangest-Ever Starts

This was a strange outing by the left-hander.

May 10, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez in the ninth inning against the New York Mets at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arizona Diamondbacks left-handed veteran starter Eduardo Rodriguez exited his game one matchup with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in the third inning. He did not appear to be injured, and did not leave with a trainer. He had given up only one earned run. How is that possible?

The answer is in the pitch count.

Rodriguez needed an unbelievable 85 pitches to record just eight outs. He landed only 47 of those pitches for strikes, while the Reds urged that count along with lengthy, foul-ball-filled at-bats.

It was a less-than-ideal performance by Rodriguez, and he did exit the game in line for the loss at the time. But somehow, it did not devolve into a blowup outing, and his ERA inflated only a small amount, sitting at 2.55 after this bizarre start.

Needless to say, it was the shortest outing of the season by an Arizona starter giving up less than eight runs — Ryne Nelson's 0.1-inning blowup being the shortest overall.

Diamondbacks' Eduardo Rodriguez throws bizarre short start

May 16, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (57) pitches during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

It began with a leadoff walk to Reds outfielder Dane Myers. Rodriguez's command looked rough from the outset. He sprayed several pitches far outside the zone, as Myers worked a seven-pitch walk.

Two more walks would follow for Cincinnati, with similarly ugly pitch locations from Rodriguez. He issued a six-pitch walk to J.J. Bleday, then on the 10th pitch of a laborious, excruciating at-bat by Sal Stewart, Arizona's left-hander picked up his first out — on the 24th pitch.

Rodriguez followed up the first out with another walk, loading the bases with one out. Somehow, he did not allow a base hit, nor did he allow a run to cross home plate in the first inning. But his pitch count was already in trouble. He'd thrown 40 by the time the first frame had concluded.

The next inning began with a leadoff home run to give the Reds a 1-0 lead, though Rodriguez did limit the damage in the second inning there, despite a fourth walk.

He went back out for the third, immediately gave up his fifth walk of the contest, and served up a bloop single to Eugenio Suarez. To make matters worse, newly-returning outfielder Jordan Lawlar made an errant throw to Nolan Arenado at third base, which allowed the runner to score on an automatic advancement.

As a result, that run was not charged to Rodriguez, who was pulled for right-hander Ryan Thompson with two outs in the third. The end result was 2.2 innings pitched, two runs (one earned), five walks and three strikeouts.

Rodriguez has been the Diamondbacks' most consistent starter this year. He still managed to keep the game from spiraling out of control, but Arizona's bullpen will certainly be taxed as a result.