Sep 28, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (52) delivers a pitch during the second inning of the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
NEW YORK — Eduardo Rodriguez tried to convince Boston Red Sox interim manager Torey Lovullo to let him pitch one more inning.
Rodriguez did not succeed but it was one of the few things he was not successful at during a promising rookie season.
“I tried to but he didn’t let me,” Rodriguez said after Monday’s 5-1 win over the New York Yankees. “I know it was a good game for me. That’s why when he came out to the mound I was saying, give me one more… So I tried to just play around with him a little bit, especially since we were winning.”
“He did the same thing to me in Boston but we knew that he had a hard cap of 170 innings and we have to be really careful with young kids and their future,” Lovullo said. “We won’t have the same conversation next year with him. He’s going to basically be wide open and moving in a very good direction. … Nobody wants to come out of games. None of our starting pitchers do. I think it’s a testimony to what these guys have inside, their own expectations.”
Rodriguez allowed one run (a sacrifice fly to Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez in the first) and seven hits over six innings during his final start of the season.
It was the final six innings of a season that began in late May, when he was promoted to replace injured right-hander Justin Masterson. Rodriguez wound up sticking in the Red Sox rotation and finished with 10 wins and 98 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings.
“I feel great,” Rodriguez said after getting his third win against the Yankees. “I feel like I can keep going but we can’t. … They said because I’m younger and because this is the first time in the big leagues and the first time I’ve thrown in September so I understand that.”
Even before Rodriguez finished strong, he was already in line to be a candidate for the rotation next season.
“He pitched a complete year and he deserves some downtime,” Lovullo said before the game. “During that downtime, we’re going have discussions as a group and move forward for 2016. Everything that he’s done up to this point in time his name is right in the middle of our talks and deserves a lot of consideration.”
Monday only enhanced it on a night when he put runners on frequently.
He loaded the bases in the second but fanned 40-year-old Alex Rodriguez on a full-count fastball for the final out to highlight his 21st start.
Rodriguez was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles for current Yankees closer Andrew Miller at last year’s non-waiver trade deadline. He began 2014 as the No. 3 rated prospect for Baltimore according to Baseball American and the sixth-best left-handed pitching prospect according to the publication.
He was 4-3 with a 2.98 ERA in Pawtucket before joining the Red Sox and finished his rookie campaign by going 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA in his last seven outings. Rodriguez also became the first Boston rookie left-hander to win double digits since John Curtis in 1972, posted the most wins by a Red Sox rookie since Daisuke Matsuzaka won 15 in 2007 and became the first Boston rookie 22 years old or younger to win double digits since Mike Nagy won 12 games in 1969.
“It’s been an impressive run,” Lovullo said. “Since the end of May to have 10 wins and have this type of year is pretty special.”
