Eduardo Rodriguez's Odd Start vs Giants Shows How Much He's Changed

The Diamondbacks' left-hander continues to flip every narrative.

May 26, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (57) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

It certainly didn't look like Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez had much of anything working for him on Tuesday night against the San Francisco Giants, and yet he turned in a six-inning Quality Start, and his fifth win of the 2026 season.

For the second time in his last three starts, it looked like Rodriguez had been struggling with location. More notably, he seemed to be displaying a downtick in velocity, hanging around the 90-91 MPH range on his four-seam fastball despite sitting 92-plus for much of this season.

He walked two batters — his most since May 10 — and gave up six hits. And it looked like he had completely emptied the tank to strike out Rafael Devers and escape a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning.

But Rodriguez went back out for the sixth, and set down the side in order with 12 pitches — and two emphatic punchouts. That sequence may be the most shining example of why 2026 has felt so different for the veteran left-hander.

Diamondbacks' Eduardo Rodriguez grits through quality start

May 21, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (57) pitches against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Manager Torey Lovullo was quite complimentary of Rodriguez's outing, despite a first-inning solo home run and plenty of base traffic in the middle innings. Lovullo said Rodriguez's outing looked "pretty clean," and that he thought the southpaw was "doing a really nice job."

"I think at times early he was trying to figure out where certain pitches were going, how to land them, but he continues to just impress by repeating the delivery and pounding the zone full of strikes," Lovullo said to D-backs.TV's Todd Walsh postgame.

To the eye test, it was not Rodriguez's best start. He's had a handful of starts like that this season, but his 2.31 ERA (which, actually, rose from 2.24 Tuesday night despite a two-run quality start) has told a different story.

No matter how often Rodriguez gets into trouble, he's mostly managed to avoid the big inning. He's avoided a lack of early command turning into a blowup performance. He's muscled his way through starts that looked like they have no business ending well.

That's not something the left-hander has done in his Diamondbacks tenure — he's posted 5.00-plus ERA figures in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and was frequently roughed up in these scenarios prior.

Eduardo Rodriguez continues to look like different pitcher

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

Perhaps that speaks even more emphatically to the changes Rodriguez has made this season. Maybe his title-winning efforts in the World Baseball Classic really did set the tone for an impressive year.

It could be the fact that he's dropped 20-plus pounds, tweaked his curveball into a more 12-6 pitch, added a tick to his fastball velocity or emphasized the usage of his changeup. The point is, he's simply different this year, and it's helping Arizona win baseball games.

With a 5-1 pitcher record on the season, Rodriguez has only pitched in two losses this season. And with a year-plus remaining on his four-year, $80 million deal, this is the pitcher the Diamondbacks needed to see.

It's going beyond a positive start here and there; Rodriguez truly looks like the best version of himself, and sustainably so. Even if a blowup occurs here or there, he's done much more good for Arizona than not, this season.