'He kept us in it': Rodriguez plays the hero, nabs 1st career win through delay

PITTSBURGH -- Christian Yelich busted out of a slump with four RBIs in his first multihomer game since 2023, and yet, it was a 23-year-old callup from Triple-A Nashville who may have made the most important contribution for the Brewers on Thursday.

Carlos Rodriguez, the club’s No. 22 prospect, waited 110 minutes between pitches in the sixth inning of a rain-interrupted 8-5 win over the Pirates at PNC Park, returning to the mound to strike out Bryan Reynolds with the tying run on base and then carrying the lead all the way to the ninth inning in a bullpen-saving effort.

“It’s huge that he was able to step up for us and put us on his back and get the win,” Yelich said. “We were dealt a tough hand right there, knowing he needs length and then a long rain delay. He kept us in it.”

It’s rare to see a pitcher remain in the game after that long of a delay, but the Brewers were in a rather dire situation coming off a homestand of hard work for their relievers, culminating with an 11-inning loss to the Orioles on Wednesday. Without an off-day on the schedule this week, the club cancelled Aaron Civale’s scheduled rehab start for Nashville that night and brought him to Pittsburgh instead, where he delivered four innings of two-run ball before yielding to reliever Rob Zastryzny and then fellow callup Rodriguez, who wiggled out of jams in the fifth and the long sixth on the way to a memorable first Major League victory.

He wasn’t perfect -- Rodriguez was charged with three earned runs on five hits, four walks, and he required ninth-inning relief from Trevor Megill (eighth save) on a night the Brewers would have rather rested their closer -- but Rodriguez did hold the lead while producing 10 of the 27 outs needed to win.

“They told me to stay ready, to stay hot, to be able to go back out there and get some innings,” said Rodriguez, who rode the stationary bike and did a light workout during the delay. “It feels great because I was able to help the team, and then for the future to have the arms available for tomorrow and the days after.”

Even with Mother Nature making things complicated.

“It’s not easy to stay locked in that long mentally or physically," said Civale, who threw 73 pitches in his own return from a strained left hamstring. “He covered a ton of innings and that’s great for everybody.”

“The numbers will never show how important Carlos was today,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.

Rodriguez could find himself headed back to Triple-A on Friday in favor of a fresh arm, but not before making a much better impression than the one he left last year. A sixth-round Draft pick in 2021 out of Florida Southwestern State College, Rodriguez was Milwaukee’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2022 and ‘23 before getting his first taste of the big leagues in ‘24 and falling flat in three outings to the tune of three losses and a 7.30 ERA.

“He’s very capable,” Murphy said. “He’s another one of these young guys like [Chad] Patrick and [Quinn] Priester and [Logan] Henderson, Tobias Myers. These are guys that aren’t on the Top 100 prospect list, but end up being very effective Major League pitchers. We’re very lucky that with all the injuries we’ve had, we’ve been able to tap this resource.”

All of the Brewers' pitchers who toed the rubber on Thursday worked with a lead forged by Yelich, who began the day with two hits in his last 34 at-bats, coming off a 1-for-23 homestand capped by an 0-for-15 funk.

His three-run homer narrowly cleared the left-field wall in the first inning and nearly produced a disaster, since Yelich came within a few steps of passing William Contreras on the basepaths as both watched to see whether Pirates left fielder Tommy Pham came up with the catch.

“That would have been a little fitting if you hit a homer and still get out,” Yelich said. “I’m really happy that didn’t happen.”

Yelich made it a two-homer night in authoritative fashion with a line-drive solo shot in the top of the sixth that left his bat at 110.7 mph and sailed a Statcast-projected 415 feet.

It had been a while for the veteran star, who had not hit multiple home runs in a game since Sept. 22, 2023, a blowout win over the Marlins in Miami that ended with burly first baseman Rowdy Tellez on the mound for Milwaukee to clinch a postseason berth.

“I’ve been grinding,” Yelich said. “It’s not ideal. It’s been tough. But it’s part of the game. These guys have been trying to pick me up all year with finding ways to score runs. It felt nice to be able to help out finally.”