The Arizona Diamondbacks will look for a strong performance from starter Eduardo Rodriguez as they try and clinch a series win over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday in Denver.
The D-backs started off the weekend set with a commanding 9-1 win on Friday night and celebrated a major milestone as Merrill Kelly threw his first career complete game.
Rodriguez (4-0, 2.25 ERA) nearly pulled off the same feat in his most recent start, as he returned to the mound for the ninth inning on Sunday against the New York Mets holding a 5-1 lead. Manager Torey Lovullo faced some boos from the home fans when he took out Rodriguez at the 100-pitch mark with one out, but Juan Morillo got the last two outs to seal the win.
The 33-year-old left-hander said he had asked Lovullo “for 10 pitches” to try and complete the feat but accepted the decision from his manager. He still was proud of his outing despite missing out on the complete game, saying, “We used all the pitches, we just went out there and tried to execute the plan and it worked out well.”
Rodriguez allowed one run on four hits and three walks while striking out four.
“It was a super clean game for him,” Lovullo said. “He was commanding a lot of pitches and just zeroed in with the game plan.”
Rodriguez is in the third season of a four-year, $80 million contract he signed with Arizona in 2024. He is 3-0 with a 4.93 ERA in six previous starts against the Rockies.
The series-opening loss wasn’t the only bad news of the day for Colorado on Friday. Chase Dollander, 3-3 with a 3.89 ERA in 10 appearances (three starts) in 2026, was placed on the 15-day injured list because of a right elbow strain. He exited the Rockies’ loss on Thursday to Pittsburgh in the second inning.
Dollander called it “a very minor strain” when he spoke to reporters after the team made the announcement.
“I’m just thanking God it wasn’t more than that — honestly it’s probably a best case scenario with what was shown,” he said.
The Rockies did have a positive on Friday, as Sterlin Thompson made his major league debut when he pinch-hit for Ezequiel Tovar in the eighth. Thompson, a 24-year-old outfielder, grounded out to first base.
“I just soaked it all in,” Thompson said, according to MLB.com. “A lot of years were put into this.”
A first-round draft pick (31st overall) in 2022, Thompson was hitting .344 with four home runs and 27 RBIs in 36 games for Triple-A Albuquerque. He was called to replace Tyler Freeman, who was placed on the paternity list Friday afternoon.
Tomoyuki Sugano (3-3, 4.07 ERA) will start on Saturday for Colorado. Last time out on Sunday, the 36-year-old right-hander gave up five runs in five innings and took the loss as Colorado fell 6-0 at Philadelphia. The long ball was the issue for Sugano, as he gave up a season-high three home runs to the Phillies.
This will be Sugano’s first appearance against Arizona in his two major league seasons.
–Field Level Media
