CHICAGO — For the third straight start to begin his major league career, Grayson Rodriguez walked the first batter of the game.
The recent trend of poor first innings — and innings that unravel on the young right-hander — reached a new peak Sunday against the Chicago White Sox when the Orioles’ top pitching prospect allowed four runs and two homers in the opening frame after walking the first batter.
But what started with the worst inning of his nascent big league career ended as perhaps his most encouraging outing. Rodriguez got a double play to escape the first and then retired 12 of the next 15 batters while striking out a career-high eight batters over his final four scoreless frames. After the four-run first, Rodriguez kept Baltimore in the game, allowing the Orioles’ offense the chance to come back and win, 8-4.
