August 2, 2012: Padres’ Eddy Rodríguez hits only career home run in his first major-league at-bat

As the Cincinnati Reds hosted the San Diego Padres in a Thursday afternoon matinee, the two teams’ seasons were heading in opposite directions. The Reds were entrenched in first place in the National League Central Division. The Reds had taken over first place on July 13 and won the division championship before losing in the Division Series to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants. The Padres had climbed out of the National League West cellar on July 14 and they remained in fourth place the rest of the season. 

The Reds entered the game with a 63-41 record and a three-game first-place lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Padres were 44-62 and 13 games out. Right-hander Johnny Cueto took the mound for the Reds with a 13-5 record. The Padres countered with right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, with a 3-1 record. The start time was 12:36 P.M. with a game-time temperature of 86 degrees. 

Both teams went down in order in the first inning. The Padres went three up and three down in the top of the second. The Reds’ bats came alive in the bottom of the inning. Scott Rolen led off with an infield single. Todd Frazier followed with a two-run home run to left-center field. Two more singles set the stage for a double by catcher Ryan Hanigan that scored Zack Cozart. The Reds were up 3-0. Ohlendorf struck out the next two Reds hitters, then walked Drew Stubbs. Jay Bruce singled to center, scoring two runs. Ohlendorf balked, allowing Stubbs to score and Bruce to move to second base. Ohlendorf walked Scott Rolen and Frazier to load the bases.  Ohlendorf’s day was done. New pitcher Eric Stults recorded the third out, getting Cozart on a foul pop fly. The Reds were staked to an early 6-0 lead. 

The Reds’ Frazier commented on the big second inning after the game: “You want to have big innings every game. We had the big six-run inning and everyone contributed. We batted around.”1

The Padres got back one run in the top of the third. Catcher Eddy Rodríguez hit his first career home run in his first major league at-bat. Rodriguez deposited a 1-and-2 pitch from Cueto in the left-center-field bleachers. Rodríguez was originally drafted by the Reds in the June 2006 draft. He spent six years in the minors before being called up by the Padres in 2012. “I knew I had it out for a home run,” he said in a conversation with the author in 2020.2 There was no doubt this ball was headed in the stands. Rodríguez sprinted around the bases with a celebratory jog. “Celebrate like you will never get to do it again,” he said.3 It was a “culmination of emotions, shock, numbness, and meant a lot just to have the opportunity.”4

Padres third baseman Chase Headley added a two-run single in the top of the third and outfielder Cameron Maybin hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Reds’ lead to 6-4. The Reds, though, extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth. Scott Rolen and Zack Cozart each had RBI singles to increase their lead to 8-4. The score remained that way until the bottom of the eighth inning, when a run scored on a groundout by Todd Frazier. Cincinnati’s José Arredondo closed out the top of the ninth inning to end the game and secure the win. 

The Reds won their third game in a row, while the Padres dropped their third in a row. Cueto earned the win to improve his record to 14-5, while Ohlendorf took the loss; his record fell to 3-2. 

Reds manager Dusty Baker said after the game, “We needed it. [The Padres] scored a lot of runs. They came in here swinging the bats good. You do what you need to do to score at least one more run than them.”5 Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan said of starting pitcher Cueto, “He pitched well. He wasn’t as dominant as he can be, but he did a good job managing the game.”6 

Rodríguez enjoyed his memorable day in the loss, saying, “It was amazing. It was everything, more than I expected. The goal at the end is to get a ‘W’ but it was a great experience, something that I will remember for the rest of my life.”7 

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and the following:

Charity, Kevin. “Who the Heck Is Eddy Rodriguez?” Fansided, August 1, 2012, friarsonbase.com/2012/08/01/who-the-heck-is-eddy-rodriguez/.

Jenkins, Drew. “Eddy Rodriguez Brings Feel Good Story to the Tampa Bay Rays,” Fansided, January 14, 2014. rayscoloredglasses.com/2014/01/14/eddy-rodriguez-brings-feel-good-story-tampa-bay-rays/.

Katz, Marc. “Daring Escape Brought Dragons Catcher to America/Cuban-Born Eddy Rodriguez and His Family Crossed Stormy Seas on a Small Fishing Boat in 1993,” Dayton Daily News, June 5, 2007. web.archive.org/web/20140611111240/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-11996982.html.

Kerasotis, Peter. “For the Yankees’ Other Rodriguez, Little Fanfare but Big Adventures,” New York Times, March 15, 2015. nytimes.com/2015/03/16/sports/baseball/for-the-yankees-other-rodriguez-little-fanfare-but-big-adventures.html.

Miami Hurricanes baseball web page, miamihurricanes.com/roster/eddy-rodriguez/.

2020 Miami Marlins Media Guide, 33.

Rodriguez, Ken. “After Escaping Cuba as a Boy, Eddy Rodriguez Living His Dream,” Sports Illustrated, July 24, 2013. si.com/mlb/2013/07/24/eddy-rodriguez.

2013 San Diego Padres Media Guide, 146, 196.

Snyder, Matt. “Thursday’s Feel-Good Moment: Eddy Rodriguez Homers in First Big-League At-Bat,” CBS Sports, August 2, 2012. cbssports.com/mlb/news/thursdays-feel-good-moment-eddy-rodriguez-homers-in-first-big-league-at-bat/.

TXNL Academy, Ocoee, Florida. tnxlacademy.com.

Photo credit

Eddy Rodríguez, courtesy of the San Diego Padres.

Notes

1 Associated Press, “Surging Reds Down Padres 9-4,” Arlington Daily Herald (Chicago), August 2, 2012. https://www.dailyherald.com/20120802/pro-sports/surging-reds-down-padres-9-4/.

2 Eddy Rodriguez, telephone interview with Gerard Kwilecki, October 19, 2020. 

3 Rodriguez interview.

4 Rodriguez interview

5 “Surging Reds Down Padres 9-4.”

6 “Surging Reds Down Padres 9-4.”

7 “Surging Reds Down Padres 9-4.”