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.
The Orioles (9-7) scored three runs in the fourth off Dylan Cease, the 2022 American League Cy Young runner-up, tied the game in the sixth and then plated three more runs in the eighth and added an insurance run in the ninth en route to the series-clinching victory. Cedric Mullins went 3-for-5 with a triple, a walk and four RBIs — including the game-winning single in the eighth — to lead the way. Gunnar Henderson, Jorge Mateo and Austin Hays all tallied two hits apiece.
Rodriguez walked two (both in the first) and scattered six hits in frigid weather with a wind chill of 34 degrees after the 2:22 rain delay.
His changeup — perhaps his best offspeed pitch — was nearly unhittable, especially as he progressed through the outing. Six of his eight strikeouts came on his drop-off-the-table changeup, with the other two on a 97 and 95 mph fastball. The 6-foot-5 23-year-old relied on his changeup near the end of his outing, throwing the pitch 12 times in his final 21 offerings. He threw 93 pitches, including 63 for strikes.
Rodriguez, MLB’s No. 7 prospect, according to Baseball America, was expected to open the season in the majors, but he was sent down to Triple-A after a rough spring training that included a blowup inning in each of his final three starts. But he started just one game with Norfolk before his promotion to the majors to replace Kyle Bradish after his right foot injury. Rodriguez made his big league debut in his home state of Texas — allowing two runs in five innings — and then struggled in his Camden Yards debut by surrendering five runs in 4 1/3 innings.
After his leadoff walk Sunday, he gave up a single and a three-run home run to Gavin Sheets. Two batters later, Jake Burger hit a solo shot for his third homer of the series. Rodriguez and relievers Mike Baumann (two innings) and Austin Voth (one) and Félix Bautista (one) didn’t allow the White Sox to score again.
Baltimore’s first run came on a Mateo sacrifice fly in the fourth. Burger then made a costly error at third base with two outs, extending the inning for Mullins to rope a two-run triple 106.3 mph to left-center field.
A wild pitch in the sixth to score Henderson tied the game, and Mullins’ RBI single gave the Orioles their first lead. Ryan Mountcastle and Anthony Santander then collected an RBI on a fielder’s choice and a single, respectively. Mullins capped the game’s scoring with another RBI single in the ninth.
