Grayson Rodriguez picks up victory in return to Angels' rotation

MINNEAPOLIS - Grayson Rodriguez made a successful return to the mound for the Angels on Friday night.

Rodriguez was in control for most of his 5 1/3-inning outing and then the Angels' bullpen held on for a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

After missing three weeks with a back injury, Rodriguez picked up the victory. He was charged with three runs, but two of them scored after he was out of the game.

The Angels (38-57) never relinquished the lead, though.

Left-hander Samy Natera Jr., who allowed the last two runs to be tacked on to Rodriguez's line in the sixth, escaped that inning and then got into and out of his own jam in the seventh. He recorded the last two outs with runners at second and third.

Right-hander Sam Bachman, pitching for the third time in four days, worked around a walk in the eighth.

Kirby Yates worked around a one-out double in the ninth to record the save, with first baseman Nolan Schanuel making a leaping catch of a would-be game-tying line drive to end it.

In the first inning, Rodriguez looked shaky. He gave up a run and the Twins hit four balls at 100 mph or harder. They whiffed at only one of his pitches.

After that, though, Rodriguez still wasn't getting many swings and misses, but he was keeping the hitters off balance enough that they weren't hitting the ball hard either.

Through five innings he was having little trouble, but his fastball velocity dipped slightly in the sixth, and the Twins got to him. Josh Bell hit a one-out double.

Pitching coach Mike Maddux then came out to visit him, and the conversation led to a visit from athletic trainer Eric Munson. Ultimately, they left Rodriguez in the game. He gave up an infield hit, and then he was pulled.

Both of the runners he left on base scored against Natera, cutting the Angels' lead to 4-3.

The Angels could have used some insurance, but the offense went quiet after a burst in the fourth and fifth innings.

Vaughn Grissom homered, his fifth of the season, to get the Angels on the board in the fourth inning.

Jorge Soler then doubled, went to third on a ground ball and scored on a balk, giving the Angels a 2-1 lead.

They scored two more in the fifth on a textbook inning of putting the ball in play. They loaded the bases on two opposite-field hits sandwiched around a perfect bunt single.

Nolan Schanuel, fresh off of his four-hit game, then singled to drive in one. Grissom followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Angels a 4-1 lead.

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This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 11:41 PM.