Rodriguez, Floro Pounded by Astros in Diamondbacks 11-5 Loss

The Diamondbacks' pitching has gone from bad to worse this series.

Sep 7, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña (3) is congratulated by Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman (2) after hitting a three-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the sixth inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros beat up on the Arizona Diamondbacks at Minute Maid Park for the second straight game, this time by a score of 11-5. With the loss the D-backs' record drops to 79-64 and their lead over the Mets in the NL Wild Card shrinks to just a half game.

They've now lost three in a row, and seven of their last 10 games.

The Diamondbacks' pitching is among the worst in the league. Their 4.64 ERA ranks 27th in MLB. There were no signs of improvement following this game. It was another disappointing, but at this point unsurprising outing for Eduardo Rodriguez Saturday afternoon against the Astros.

The Diamondbacks had jumped out to a 3-1 lead thanks to a two-run second inning that included an RBI base hit by Kevin Newman. The second baseman also hit a solo shot into the Crawford Box in the fourth.

Rodriguez managed to work around five hits, including two doubles, to allow only one run through the first three frames. He was anything but sharp however and it was no shock when he had a fourth inning meltdown.

With one out Rodriguez issued two walks and hit a batter before surrendering a two-run single to the number nine hitter Chas McCormick. He later left a sinker over the middle to Yordan Alvarez and the big man knocked an RBI single into right.

An error by Eugenio Suarez on a routine grounder extended the inning, and Rodriguez responded by walking Alex Bregman with the bases loaded, scoring one more run. By the time he finally got out of it, he'd thrown 44 pitches, faced 10 batters, and allowed four runs, three earned.

Rodriguez left the game trailing 5-3 in what was the second straight four-inning start. He allowed seven hits, walked three and struck out just one batter. He threw 88 pitches, just 49 for strikes. Even when he got into two strike counts, he had trouble executing and finishing off batters.

The Diamondbacks already had to send one high-priced veteran lefty to the bullpen in Jordan Montgomery. There is no room to do the same with Rodriguez. While Rodriguez has not not been giving up the really big numbers like Montgomery had been, with 6-8 runs in several games, Rodriguez' outings are getting increasingly noncompetitive.

Rodriguez has a career low 5.5 K/9 ratio and a 5.83 ERA. There is little consolation in his 4.85 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching). He's not getting swing and miss on anything but the change up at this point.

The Diamondbacks have 19 games remaining in the regular season, and if he remains in the rotation, Rodriguez is in line to make three of them. If the Postseason were to start tomorrow, it's fairly clear that Rodriguez would not be part of the playoff rotation.

Thats a tough pill to swallow for the Diamondbacks who have had nothing but bad luck with recent, high-priced free agent starting pitchers. That includes Madison Bumgarner, Montgomery and Rodriguez.

The D-backs got a fourth run in the sixth on a homer by Eugenio Suarez off of Astros Starter Yusei Kikuchi, his 25th of the year. That made the game 5-4 at the time. It was never going to be enough however.

Dylan Floro relieved Rodriguez and retired the side in order in the fifth. He then proceeded to give up five runs in the sixth inning on four singles and a three-run homer by Jeremy Pena. That blew open a close game, making the score 10-4.

The Floro trade looked like a great move at the time to shore up the bullpen. He was brought over from the Nationals at the deadline sporting a 2.06 ERA and 2.64 FIP to back it up. He's now allowed 12 runs in 12.2 innings pitched as a Diamondback, and his ERA is up to 3.29.

Arizona scratched out a run in the top of the seventh. Slade Cecconi gave up a solo homer in the bottom half of the inning to close out the scoring at 11-5.

Arizona will look to salvage the series finale behind Ryne Nelson, who will be opposed by future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander. The game will be broadcast by ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. First pitch is 4:10 p.m. MST, 6:10 CT.