With the Toronto Blue Jays rotation off to an inconsistent start to the 2024 season, Yariel Rodriguez's MLB debut was a welcome development.
The 27-year-old Cuban endeared himself to Blue Jays fans right from first pitch, logging a 1-2-3 first inning while picking up his first two career strikeouts against the Colorado Rockies.
Operating under a pitch limit, Rodriguez tossed 68 pitches — 44 strikes — over 3.2 innings. The right-hander allowed four hits and just one earned run on a Brenton Doyle home run in the third inning. Rodriguez also walked two and struck out six.
He threw 32 fastballs, topping out a 97.6 m.p.h and averaging 95.5 with his heater, 25 sliders, five splitters, four sinkers and two curveballs, according to Baseball Savant. His slider generated seven of his 12 whiffs in the outing.
When he was lifted from the game for Bowden Francis in the fourth inning, Rodriguez shared a special moment with the Toronto crowd, acknowledging the Blue Jays fans as they gave him a standing ovation on his way to the dugout.
Rodriguez exited with runners on first and second base, and after a Rockies baserunning gaffe, Francis allowed a single before getting the last out of the inning on a line drive to third base.
Toronto gave its new starter some early run support, plating five runs in the first inning — four coming on Daulton Varsho's grand slam.
The Blue Jays activated Rodriguez on Saturday, after he had made two starts with triple-A Buffalo, throwing 6.1 scoreless innings for the Bisons.
He started the year in triple-A to build up as a starter after back spams forced him to miss the beginning of Toronto's spring training schedule.
The Blue Jays signed him to a five-year $32-million contract over the off-season. Rodriguez pitched for Cuba in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, but didn’t pitch professionally last summer as he looked to make the jump to MLB from NPB. He had served as a reliever for the previous three seasons with the Chunichi Dragons.
