CINCINNATI -- Bailey Falter¡¯s offering was in the dirt, resulting in a wild pitch, but catcher Endy Rodríguez still thought he had a play. He jumped from his crouch, fielded it cleanly and threw down to third base to try to nab Elly De La Cruz. Instead, Rodr¨ªguez's throw hit his mask, which was flying off as he made the leap to his feet.
The throw squirted into left field, both Reds runners came home, and the Pirates eventually lost 5-3 on Friday night at Great American Ball Park.
¡°I couldn't stop my arm because it was in full motion,¡± Rodr¨ªguez said. ¡°As we know, it's more dangerous to try to stop the arm, rather than just letting it go. So, I just tried to get it to a position where Key [third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes] could handle it, but I couldn't do that."
It was a freak variable that messed with the play, but given the situation -- two outs and one of the game¡¯s most prolific baserunners booking it down to third with a head start -- manager Derek Shelton admitted, ¡°That's probably a ball we've just got to eat.¡±
It wasn¡¯t just that throw for Rodr¨ªguez that stood out Friday. He also crushed a Taylor Rogers sweeper off the top of the left-center-field wall, but was thrown out attempting to make it to second. The two plays displayed Rodr¨ªguez's natural talent and hustle, but they were daggers in the Pirates¡¯ comeback attempt. He¡¯s been the team¡¯s backup catcher and primary first baseman early this season, and has already made two errors at each position.
Some level of learning and readjusting curve was expected. Rodr¨ªguez missed all but a small slither of Minor League games in 2024 after undergoing elbow surgery in December 2023, and for a young player, that could sometimes lead to pressing on the field.
"I think right now, a little bit of it is we're seeing he's missed ¡ a year,¡± Shelton said. ¡°He's also really athletic and trying to do some things. It's just slowing him back down. I would rather slow him back down than push him forward. We just have to make sure we continue to talk about these things with him."
Rodr¨ªguez doesn¡¯t feel the game is speeding up on him, nor does he believe it¡¯s too fast right now -- it¡¯s ¡°just the game¡± -- but miscues can stack. He had a terrific Spring Training, and after a bit of a slow start at the dish, he¡¯s taken much better swings over the last week. Rodr¨ªguez has made a couple miscues at first base, but he also didn¡¯t have many reps there during Spring Training because the team wanted him to earn a spot at catcher first, because that¡¯s where they view him long-term.
Some of this is expected. There¡¯s still plenty to polish up.
"Obviously, sometimes we try a little too much, but we're trying to do the job at the end of the day,¡± Rodr¨ªguez said.
The Pirates could be relying on Rodr¨ªguez more behind the plate in the near future, too. Joey Bart exited Friday¡¯s game in the second inning after his back locked up on a first-inning check swing. That could create more opportunities for Rodr¨ªguez at his natural spot behind the plate in the short-term, but he has to build on what he showed in 2023, when he got high grades for his framing, game-calling and throwing.
Rodr¨ªguez is resilient, not just because he battled through the injury, but even how he carried himself postgame. He had a conversation with teammates. He answered the questions asked of him with a full chest, and even made a gentle joke to start to try to break some tension and have a reason to smile.
The one thing that did get him slightly misty-eyed at the end was being asked about that resilience and keeping his head up after a rough night.
"It comes from [the fact] that I gave my 100% today,¡± Rodr¨ªguez said. ¡°I did all that I could do to help the team. We all came here from our gifts. That's all we got."