Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez is heading back to Baltimore for imaging after being scratched from his start in Toronto on Tuesday due to pain in his upper back and shoulder, according to manager Brandon Hyde.
“I hope everything works out OK,” Hyde said after the Blue Jays defeated the Orioles 5-2.
Rodriguez was pulled from the game just minutes before the first pitch because of discomfort in his right latissimus dorsi and teres major muscles, which help move the upper arm.
Rodriguez was previously on the injured list from April 30 to May 18 due to right shoulder inflammation, but Hyde mentioned that Tuesday’s pain was “all new” for the 24-year-old.
“He’s been feeling fine, threw a really good bullpen in Cleveland,” Hyde said. “It just came up tonight while he was warming up.”
Rodriguez has a 13-4 record with a 3.86 ERA in 20 starts for the AL East-leading Orioles, tying him with Chris Sale of Atlanta and Julio Lugo of Kansas City for the major league lead in wins.
Selected in the first round of the 2018 draft, Rodriguez has won five of his last six decisions. He went 7-4 with a 4.35 ERA in 23 starts during his rookie season last year.
Right-handed reliever Albert Suárez took Rodriguez’s place and struck out six batters in five scoreless innings. He allowed two hits, both singles, and walked two batters.
“To give us five innings in that kind of spot, that’s unbelievable,” Hyde said.
