Diamondbacks Complete Sweep of Guardians In Eduardo Rodriguez's Debut

The D-backs' big left-hander put out a solid first start, as the bullpen bent but didn't break.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez during spring training workouts at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale on Feb. 14, 2024. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Arizona Diamondbacks held on to a tight 5-3 victory in Cleveland, sweeping the Guardians in both the doubleheader and the series.

Long-awaited left-hand starter Eduardo Rodriguez made his debut with Arizona, working an efficient, albeit not glistening 5 2/3 innings. Through those 5.2, he allowed four hits, two walks and three earned runs, only striking out one batter on 65 pitches, 43 strikes.

Manager Torey Lovullo noted how happy he was for Rodriguez to finally make his start, and was grateful that the left-hander was able to get deep into the sixth inning.

“It’s been a long runway for him... It’s what I remember, a very clean and easy delivery, and he knows right where it’s going. He can really paint up the edges of the plate,” Lovullo said.

But it wasn't just Rodriguez's first game with his new team. Arizona jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against Guardians starter Carlos Carrasco in the second inning, in part due to their newest position player.

After first baseman Josh Bell hit another opposite field solo home run, young catcher prospect Adrian Del Castillo came up with two outs, and Eugenio Suarez at second base. Del Castillo got into a 1-2 count, but then scooped a double to the left field wall for his first major league hit and RBI, as the D-backs took a 2-0 lead, with his family watching from the stands.

“I just blacked out, honestly, it was a good pitch, over the plate. I was trying to go left center the whole entire time… good changeup, guessed right, put a good barrel on it,” he said, speaking to D-backs TV's Todd Walsh postgame.

Walsh had previously spoken to Del Castillo's father, in the stands, following his double. His father emphasized Del Castillo's two-strike approach, and how he hits well when he's forced into a two-strike corner.

Manager Torey Lovullo echoed the sentiment, expressing how happy he was for the young catcher and noting the value of a good two-strike approach.

“It couldn’t have worked out any better for him," said Lovullo, "I think to be a successful major league hitter you can’t be afraid to hit with strikes on, and you can’t be afraid to hit with two strikes on, and we know that he did.”

Del Castillo would finish his day 1-for-3, with the RBI double, a walk and two strikeouts. But he didn't just contribute offensively. With a longtime veteran on the mound in Rodriguez, Del Castillo was forced to play old-school, calling hand signals for the veteran lefty.

"E-Rod likes them," Del Castillo said with a laugh.

“He’s a veteran, he knows what he’s doing up there, which is nice. In the dugout we were talking, how we were going to attack each batter. It was cool seeing his perspective,” the young catcher said.

Lovullo praised the 25-year-old, noting how comfortable he was able to feel with Del Castillo handling business behind the plate.

“He was so good, after the second inning I took my eyes off him… Innings 3-9 I didn’t even think about him once,” Lovullo said.

Bell wasn't done for the day. After Rodriguez surrendered a solo home run to Cleveland DH David Fry, the big first baseman got into another one with Corbin Carroll on base, making it 4-1.

Bell has homered four times since joining the D-backs, over only six games. He has two multi-homer games already. The four homers is tied for the most in D-backs history through a player's first six games with the club, along with J.D. Martinez, Troy Glaus and Luis Gonzalez.

Rodriguez allowed a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and a solo home run off the bat of Jose Ramirez in the fifth to make it 4-3, but Randal Grichuk got the run back with a solo blast in the top of the seventh.

Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Thompson and Joe Mantiply combined to throw 2 1/3 scoreless innings, but the ninth inning appeared to offer trouble again, as right-hander Justin Martinez came in for the save.

After a popup deflected off Geraldo Perdomo into center field, and a fly out to right, Martinez got a chopper right back to the mound. A difficult play, he bobbled the ball and attempted a throw to second, but sent the ball into center instead.

Both runners were safe, as the winning run came to the plate.

Martinez struck out Bo Naylor one batter later, but then walked Daniel Schneemann. With the winning run at first base, the young flamethrower struck out Lane Thomas on three pitches, as Arizona completed the sweep of MLB's best-record club.

"That splitter, splitter's the pitch man. Slider was working as well today too, he just needed to trust it, trust his heater too, it blows their doors off,” Del Castillo said.

Martinez has had a bit of a mixed bag season, although he's been dominant in lower-leverage roles. Today's game marked his second save in three days, and his second converted save opportunity in a row.

“I think he grows with each outing," said Lovullo, "we know what’s going on with him, he’s very very good.”

The manager noted that he'd taken Martinez out of the game after running into similar trouble in the past, but called today's save a "stride in the right direction.”

The D-backs improve to 63-52, momentarily jumping the San Diego Padres for the No.1 Wild Card spot. They remain hot, winning their seventh straight series, and 10 of their last 11.

But there's no rest for the snakes yet, as they'll head home to Phoenix to take on the NL-juggernaut Phillies in a four-game set, with plenty of playoff implications on the line.

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