Boston Red Sox

No beard, no runs: Eduardo Rodriguez shared why he shaved his beard during All-Star break

Rodriguez didn't allow a run with his new look in Friday's win over the Yankees.

Eduardo Rodriguez debuted his clean shaven look in the Red Sox' win over the Yankees.

By Conor Roche

2 minutes to read

Eduardo Rodriguez is sporting a different look to start the second half of the season.

In the Red Sox’ first game since the All-Star break, Rodriguez took the mound for Friday’s start with a clean-shaven face.

The southpaw, who has rocked a beard for much of his career, had a reason why he shaved it off. Rodgriguez’s daughter, Anne, wanted her dad to ditch the beard.

“She’s been on top of me all the time, I would say for the last two years,” Rodgriguez told reporters after Friday’s game. “Every time I hug her, she just goes ‘Daddy, I don’t want that. Shave it, please. Shave it please.’ And I was at home during the All-Star Break and she kept doing it. I went to my restroom and I see the razor there. It was (like) ‘OK, I’ll do it for her.’”

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Rodriguez’s first game with the new look went well. He threw 5.2 scoreless innings, stuck out eight, and allowed two hits in the Red Sox’ 4-0 win over the Yankees.

The start marks the second time this season – and the second time in three starts – that Rodriguez hasn’t allowed a run, possibly showing a turn in performance for the second half of the season.

“The last couple starts have been really good for me, so I just have to keep going with that. Keep pitching the way I’ve been pitching in the last couple of starts,” Rodriguez said.

Alex Cora has liked what he’s seen from Rodriguez over the last month. He believes we’re starting to see Rodriguez pitch like the ace the Red Sox hoped he would be at the start of the season.

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“Eduardo, he’s been throwing the ball well. He’s done a job for us in the last few [starts],” Cora said. “It actually started right after the bad Houston [start on June 10. ] He’s been making adjustments. Little by little, he keeps putting his pieces together. Now, he’s the guy we saw in 2019, the guy we saw in the playoffs in 2018.”

Rodriguez improved to 7-5 on the year and dropped his ERA from 5.52 to 5.19.

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