Extra Bases: Rodriguez should've 'gone to the plate'
Endy Rodriguez wasn't exactly productive in Cincinnati this weekend, especially from a defensive perspective.
Rodriguez committed a two-base throwing error while behind the plate in Friday's series opener and then found himself at the center of another miscue this afternoon.
With runners on the corners and nobody out in the bottom of the fifth inning, TJ Friedl hit a one-hopper to Rodriguez, who was playing up in front of the first-base bag. Rodriguez looked home and instead of throwing it to Henry Davis to gun down Noelvi Marte at the plate, he did this:
In an attempt to turn a double play, Rodriguez got the out at second, but Tsung-Che Cheng's throw back to first wasn't in time. The preventable run scored and Friedl was safe at first. He ended up scoring later in the inning on an RBI single by Elly De La Cruz.
"Ball should've gone to the plate, yeah," DerekShelton said. "With the depth we're at, with where we're at, that ball has to be thrown to the plate."
Considering the fact that the offense was nearly non-existent on this day, Rodriguez's decision didn't matter much. However, that's the type of play and decision he has to learn from moving forward.
• Oneil Cruz returned to the lineup this afternoon after a three-game absence and went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk. He also recorded his league-leading eighth stolen base of the season in the first inning, tying OmarMoreno (1982) and EdBarney (1916) for the third-most by a Pirates baserunner in his first 13 games of a season since 1901. Cruz's streak of 28 straight successful stolen-base attempts, which dates back to April 2024, matches Nate McLouth (2008-09) for the second-longest run by a Pirates baserunner since 1976. TonyWomack converted on 32 attempts in a row during the 1997 season.
• While Joey Wentz did allow a run to score on De La Cruz's fifth-inning single, the Pirates' bullpen was strong again today. Wentz allowed a hit and a walk in 2/3 of an inning in relief of Carmen Mlodzinski before Justin Lawrence, Ryan Borucki and Caleb Ferguson combined to strike out three over three unblemished innings.
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THE ASYLUM
José Negron
10:43 pm - 04.13.2025CincinnatiExtra Bases: Rodriguez should've 'gone to the plate'
Endy Rodriguez wasn't exactly productive in Cincinnati this weekend, especially from a defensive perspective.
Rodriguez committed a two-base throwing error while behind the plate in Friday's series opener and then found himself at the center of another miscue this afternoon.
With runners on the corners and nobody out in the bottom of the fifth inning, TJ Friedl hit a one-hopper to Rodriguez, who was playing up in front of the first-base bag. Rodriguez looked home and instead of throwing it to Henry Davis to gun down Noelvi Marte at the plate, he did this:
In an attempt to turn a double play, Rodriguez got the out at second, but Tsung-Che Cheng's throw back to first wasn't in time. The preventable run scored and Friedl was safe at first. He ended up scoring later in the inning on an RBI single by Elly De La Cruz.
"Ball should've gone to the plate, yeah," Derek Shelton said. "With the depth we're at, with where we're at, that ball has to be thrown to the plate."
Considering the fact that the offense was nearly non-existent on this day, Rodriguez's decision didn't matter much. However, that's the type of play and decision he has to learn from moving forward.
• Oneil Cruz returned to the lineup this afternoon after a three-game absence and went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk. He also recorded his league-leading eighth stolen base of the season in the first inning, tying Omar Moreno (1982) and Ed Barney (1916) for the third-most by a Pirates baserunner in his first 13 games of a season since 1901. Cruz's streak of 28 straight successful stolen-base attempts, which dates back to April 2024, matches Nate McLouth (2008-09) for the second-longest run by a Pirates baserunner since 1976. Tony Womack converted on 32 attempts in a row during the 1997 season.
• While Joey Wentz did allow a run to score on De La Cruz's fifth-inning single, the Pirates' bullpen was strong again today. Wentz allowed a hit and a walk in 2/3 of an inning in relief of Carmen Mlodzinski before Justin Lawrence, Ryan Borucki and Caleb Ferguson combined to strike out three over three unblemished innings.
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