The Boston Red Sox will begin their final West Coast trip of 2019 tonight in San Diego with Eduardo Rodriguez taking the hill.
Here we are, folks! The final West Coast swing of the 2019 season and the Red Sox need to poach some wins while on the road. Luckily for them, they’ll be rolling out one of their most consistent starters this season in Eduardo Rodriguez. The Red sox were able to get a little momentum from yesterday’s wi and need to keep that wave flowing.
I know we don’t always give E-Rod the shine he deserves with names like David Price and Chris Sale on the roster, but he really has been a rock for this team. Rodriguez leads the Red Sox in wins with a 14-5 record which is also a career-best for wins.
He’s also set a career-high for innings pitched (153.2) and is sitting on 149 strikeouts which is one away from his career-best of 150. His 4.10 ERA is also right on par for his career average of 4.12.
The past week has been the definition of a rollercoaster for the Red Sox as with every up there’s been a down. They sweep the Orioles but then lose Sale for the season and get swept by the Phillies, but then they pick up the quick win against the Royals yesterday. There are only 33 games left on the calendar and Boston really needs to take advantage of these games coming up.
I was at Fenway Park this past Saturday night when E-Rd started against the Orioles and it was a pleasure to watch the southpaw work. Even if things got a little dicey he never lost his composure and made sure to do his job.
He would toss a strong 7.1IP while striking out four and just walking two, he also gave up a measly four hits. He went out there and shut down Baltimore and gave the Red Sox the chance they needed to win.
He’ll be looking to do the exact same tonight against the Padres. This will be the first time that Boston makes the trip to Petco Park in three years. It’s also Player’s Weekend so we’ll be seeing some fun jerseys and well some boring ones, but hey that’s the players’ choice. No matter the name on his jersey this weekend, E-Rod will be looking to get the damn thing done, it’s gonna be ‘El Gualo’ by the way.
The Padres are currently fourth in the NL West with a 59-67 record and are currently on a two-game losing streak. Though Boston just got swept by the Phillies they’re still 6-2 in their last eight games. If the Sox want to make any moves in the wild card standings they have to knock off these lower-level teams. With the type of season he’s having I have all the confidence that Rodriguez can set the tone tonight.
When I watched him pitch last weekend it was a sight and something I have been waiting to see from Eduardo all season. He commanded the game and was quick to snuff out any sort of attack that Baltimore was attempting.
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With the uncertainty on exactly when Price will be back and the damn-near guarantee that we won’t see Sale again in 2019, Rodriguez needs to become the rock of this rotation. Eduardo has all the tools and I feel like we’re finally seeing him reaching the potential that we heard about all the way back in spring training. If he can continue to lock-in and control the game when he’s on the mound then he can lead this pitching staff.
The Red Sox are in a tough spot and can’t afford any more slip-ups as they saw against the Phillies. They’ve got a great chance with this West Coast trip to pick up eight wins against lesser quality teams. Boston won’t be able to do it all on their own as they need other teams to help out but all the Sox can do is win the games they have on the schedule. That all starts tonight with Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound looking for win number 15.