As Alex Cora pointed out after one of Eduardo Rodriguez's better starts back in April, this is what ace's do.
Welcome back to the conversation, Eddie.
With the Red Sox taking on water thanks to a punchless lineup and starting rotation that managed just one five-inning outing in its last eight tries, Rodriguez became the guy this team was counting on from the get-go.
A five-game losing streak was brought to a screeching halt thanks to a 4-1 win over the Tigers, with Rodriguez holding Detroit scoreless for five innings, punching out 10 batters along the way.
It wasn't perfect, but it was desperately needed.
"As you guys know, we have a really good relationship," Cora said. "I like jabbing him a little bit in different ways, sometimes through you guys, sometimes through the teammates, and sometimes one on one. One thing for sure, he's in great shape. He looks great. He understands how important he is, not only for the rotation, but for the whole team. It's good to see him compete the way he did tonight and hopefully it's the start of something great."
"Fastball. That's what I had working today," explained Rodriguez. "I was able to locate the fastball pretty well on top of the strike zone and I was taking advantage because they were chasing. It was what I had tonight. Even though I got a lot of chase, I don't feel good going just five innings and four walks. That’s not what you want to do as a starter: go five innings and four walks. That’s not what I'd like to do too much. But I feel good about the results, winning the game and going five innings after the last few starts I had."
There were certainly signs Rodriguez might be the right guy at the right time. Starting on June 27, three out of his four starts had allowed for ace-like results. But then came the migraine-induced one-inning outing, which was followed by another uncomfortable round of results.
But Wednesday night, Rodriguez had hopped back on the path so many envisioned when making postseason rotation prognostications.
"I went one inning that day and wasn’t feeling good in my head that day," he said. "Then was available to pitch, and after five days i had to pitch again and I was feeling a little out of rhythm with every pitch. I took these last five days to work on it and get back to what it was five starts before that day. I feel like I got it back and want to continue and put the team in position to win the game. That’s what we need right now, winning games and winning and winning. That’s what we need right now."
This isn't complicated. Rodriguez can be that guy the Red Sox can count on to stop losing streaks. Up until the ups and downs of 2021, he had been for the better parts of 2018 and '19.
In those last three seasons Rodriguez has pitched (not including 2020), he has allowed two or runs 44 times with the Red Sox going 41-3 in those games. (For context, Nathan Eovaldi -- who did pitch in 2020 -- has managed the feat 45 times since the beginning of 2018, with his teams going 31-14.)
When Rodriguez is good, he is usually really good ... and the Red Sox usually win. That was certainly the case when this current team needed it the most.
"It was big for us," he said. "Just after the five losses, I feel like it’s a huge win that we needed. Now it’s time to go out there and try to win every series and win every game we can. I feel like it was a big win for us today and that was a good way to start a winning streak now."