Eduardo Rodriguez Finally Gave D-backs Exactly What They Needed

There is no mincing words; the Arizona Diamondbacks' rotation had been nothing short of abysmal in recent play — until Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In the midst of a four-game losing streak, and some of the worst starting pitching results in recent history for Arizona, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez took the mound for one of his most dominant starts in a Diamondbacks uniform.

Rodriguez threw 103 pitches, and used all of them to engineer a seven-inning shutout performance. He allowed only two base knocks, and counteracted three walks with seven punchouts.

It was a welcome sight to behold for the Chase Field faithful, who had not seen their home team play in person in nearly two weeks. It was also all the D-backs needed to set the tone for a strong, 9-0 blowout win to open their homestand.

Diamondbacks' Eduardo Rodriguez deals vs Pirates

Apr 22, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (57) throws against the Chicago White Sox in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Rodriguez's prior three outings were less than stellar, though Arizona did win all three of them. He had allowed 10 runs in his last 14.2 innings, walking 11 batters in the process.

But Rodriguez's stuff was dialed in Tuesday night. His four-seam fastball, which has not exactly been his best weapon in 2026, collected eight whiffs, with 10 called strikes.

In total, Rodriguez managed 15 whiffs and 18 called strikes. It was only the third time in his D-backs career the left-hander managed to complete seven innings, and the second time he did so in scoreless fashion — the first coming in his second start of this very season.

"I feel like [it was] one of those days when everything is just working, and you just go out there and throw. That's the day that we all as a starting pitcher hope to have, and I had it on today," Rodriguez said.

The left-hander was nearly removed before facing the final batter of the seventh inning, but Rodriguez insisted to manager Torey Lovullo he could finish the frame. Rodriguez did so with a strikeout.

"[Lovullo] looked at me, and I just told him, 'Give me this guy. I got him,' and he gave it to me," Rodriguez said.

Lovullo heaped praise on his starter for that moment.

"He backed me down, and he said, 'Give me one more hitter,'" Lovullo said. "And I pointed, and I told him, 'This is your last hitter.' I like that. I like challenges. ... I like when guys back up what they say they can do, and E-Rod definitely did that today."

With Rodriguez's effective, and — perhaps even more importantly, lengthy — lengthy outing, that allowed Arizona to make quick work of the later innings, using only two relievers to close down the contest.

Righty Jonathan Loaisiga tossed a clean, 1-2-3 eighth inning, and left-handerr Brandyn Garcia threw a brilliant ninth on 11 pitches, punctuated with two strikeouts. Arizona's bullpen remains rested going into the remainder of the series.

Diamondbacks' lineup stacks runs vs Pirates

May 5, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Ildemaro Vargas (6) celebrates after hitting an RBI double against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

As the rotation has struggled, so, too has the D-backs' lineup. Part of that may have been due to facing large deficits early in contests. But it was a strong offensive showing Tuesday night.

A two-out double by the still-red-hot Ildemaro Vargas put Arizona up 2-0 after a Ketel Marte triple and Adrian Del Castillo sacrifice fly. But the D-backs would stack five more runs on Pittsburgh in the sixth inning, as nine men came up to bat.

The Diamondbacks only recorded nine base hits, but managed to take seven walks — an area the lineup had been deficient in for some time. The 9-0 shutout win was the largest margin of victory, with the fewest opponent hits allowed in the 2026 season.

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