It¡¯s been nine months and two days since the top prospect battery of Grayson Rodriguez and Adley Rutschman -- MLB's top pitching and catching prospects -- took the field together. On Friday night at First Horizon Park in Nashville, Tenn., they reunited with a productive outing.
Rodriguez, the No. 6 prospect in baseball, struck out five in 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and walking three batters in Triple-A Norfolk¡¯s 1-0 loss to Nashville. Rodriguez lowered his ERA from 4.15 to 3.33 with the scoreless start, rebounding from allowing eight runs over his past two starts. The 22-year-old has fanned five or more batters in 14 consecutive starts, dating back to his last start with Rutschman behind the plate on Aug. 5.
¡°It¡¯s huge," said Rodriguez about having Rutschman back. "He¡¯s one of the best catchers that there is. Getting back, throwing in a game with him, it¡¯s awesome.¡±
Rodriguez started his outing by giving up a leadoff single to Jonathan Davis, then picked him off five pitches later. After walking Brice Turang, the Brewers¡¯ No. 4 prospect, he rolled a double play to end the first. The 6-foot-5 righty settled down in the second, striking out the side on 19 pitches.
¡°I really got the feel there for my delivery and the strike zone after the single," said Rodriguez. "We were able to sharpen everything up after that and roll through it.¡±
The second-ranked Orioles prospect cruised through the Sounds¡¯ lineup in the middle innings, with his only blemish being a walk to Davis in the fourth. Rutschman, the No. 2 prospect in baseball, led off the top of the fourth with a 109 mph single, his only hit of the night in four trips to the plate, giving him a .406/.500/.563 slash line in nine games this year.
Rodriguez ran into a jam in the sixth inning, walking Andruw Monasterio and allowing a second single to Davis, ending his outing at a season-high 82 pitches. Reliever Isaac Mattson got Turang to ground into a fielder¡¯s choice and escaped the inning unscathed. Turang would later prove to be the difference, driving in the game¡¯s only run with a go-ahead single in the bottom of the eighth inning.
"There were some times where I kind of threw 0-2 type pitches, strike to ball, not necessarily in the right count. Some misses that next start, we¡¯ll clean it up," said Rodriguez on his season-high three walks.
After dominating in his first three starts of the season, Rodriguez posted back-to-back starts allowing three or more earned runs for the first time in his professional career. His response on Saturday night was a good one, giving him 38 K¡¯s to eight walks in 27 innings, a 1.00 WHIP and a .198 batting average against.
¡°I¡¯m feeling pretty good. My arm's in shape, we¡¯ve been taking it slow, I feel like I¡¯ve been ready to make a big jump [in pitches] like tonight," said Rodriguez. "Obviously, you don¡¯t want those [starts] to happen, but ultimately those are the starts that you learn the most from.¡±
With Rutschman¡¯s return to Triple-A after a 10-day rehab stint at High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie, the Orioles¡¯ prized battery of the future is on display once again just 250 miles south of Baltimore. With similar development schedules and a strong personal bond, the two future stars could move up to the Major Leagues together at any point this season.
¡°I think that would be the perfect ending to the Minor League careers and the perfect start to the big league ones. That¡¯s something that¡¯d be pretty amazing," said Rodriguez.