New York — The heads-up came way too late Friday night.
When Tucker Barnhart reached first base with two outs in the eighth inning, the Tigers already were trailing 12-0. Rookie pitcher Elvin Rodriguez already was back in the clubhouse wondering what the heck happened after he was tagged for 10 runs in 4.1 innings.
So when Yankees’ first baseman Anthony Rizzo told him they had something on Rodriguez, it was like, ‘You’re telling me now?’”
As an eight-minute video produced by Jomboy Media clearly demonstrated, whenever Rodriguez worked out the stretch, which was often, Yankees’ hitters knew when he was throwing his fastball and when he was throwing his breaking ball and off-speed.
“It sucks,” was Barnhart’s reaction after watching the video. “I didn’t really notice anything egregious to the point where my antennae went up. But when you slow it down like that it was pretty obvious. This game is really hard, and if you know what’s coming it makes it easier.”
Barnhart played against both Rizzo and Matt Carpenter for many years in the National League Central Division. He knows both have keen eyes when it comes to picking up on any small detail of a pitcher’s delivery. And they had Rodriguez cold.
Every time he came set in the stretch and looked directly straight ahead at third base, he would throw his fastball. When he didn’t, it was a breaking ball or off-speed. They were so certain that with two outs in the fourth inning, Carpenter did something he almost never does — he pushed a bunt toward third base against the shift.
He wanted to get on first base to make Rodriguez work from the stretch. The next three hitters got hits and three runs scored.
“Yeah, they got me,” Rodriguez said after he watched the video. “I was making the pitches and they were spitting on my breaking ball and sitting on my fastball. So I kind of imagined something was up, but I didn’t get it that they were picking me up like that. It’s tough, but at the same time, you have to figure it out and learn from it.”
Rodriguez, who was pitching despite having an impacted wisdom tooth which he had extracted on Saturday, said he will remedy the situation before his next start.
“It’s a lesson to every young pitcher on how on top of everything you need to be when you play an elite team,” manager AJ Hinch said. “Again, I don’t know what or if that was true that they were locked in on stuff. But young pitchers at this level are going to get taught a lot of lessons and that’s another one.”
Hinch, who told Rodriguez he’d be back on the mound in five days, said pitch execution was just as significant in the 13-0 defeat as the pitch tipping.
“They were taking really good swings at him,” said Hinch, referencing that home runs hit by Aaron Judge and Luis Trevino in the third inning came when Rodriguez was working out of the windup. “It’s possible a young pitcher was tipping. That’s a popular conversation nowadays every time a guy gets hit. But it’s also about the execution of a good pitch.
“That was a middle-middle fastball that Matt Carpenter hit into the upper deck. You can’t put everything on pitch tipping.”
Around the horn
Hinch said before the game outfielder Austin Meadows (vertigo) could join the club in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Out since May 16, Meadows was scheduled to play another rehab game with Toledo on Sunday. He hit a home run Saturday.
… Lefty Tyler Alexander (elbow) struck out four in two scoreless innings for Toledo on Saturday. Hinch said he would make at least two more rehab outings before being activated.
… Outfielder Robbie Grossman (neck) could start a rehab assignment with Toledo as early as Tuesday. Outfielder Victor Reyes (quad) could join him there by the end of the week.
… Starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (ribcage) threw a bullpen before the game here Sunday. Hinch said barring any setbacks, Rodriguez will make a rehab start for Toledo mid-week.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky