Endy Rodriguez leads Pirates to series win vs. Rockies in his first game in nearly a year

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on May 14, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

PITTSBURGH — Welcome back, Endy Rodriguez.

The 25-year-old catcher made his first appearance for the Pirates since June 6, then helped them to a 7-2 win against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday afternoon at PNC Park. Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with a walk, hitting a double in the second inning then adding a two-run single in the third to extend the Pirates’ lead.

As he’s recovered from his elbow injury, then continued playing in Indianapolis, Rodriguez has been watching the Pirates on television. Standing on second base after his double, he got to hoist a mock cone for the first time.

“It was amazing,” Rodriguez said. “On the TV, it’s pretty fun. Just being around the guys now and feeling the energy they have, all the team together, it’s pretty good.”

Ryan O’Hearn was the Pirates’ other offensive standout, finishing 3 for 4 with a two-run homer. He scored twice, then complimented Rodriguez.

“He’s awesome, man,” O’Hearn said. “I saw him a little bit in spring training and he brings great energy. He showed that today. I’m really happy for Endy. If he can help us out in any way, that’s awesome.”

The return meant plenty to Rodriguez, who has missed most of the last two years with multiple elbow injuries.

He’s consistently smiling in the clubhouse, but he’s certainly happy to be back in Pittsburgh.

“You can’t imagine how excited I am to be here around the guys, around the energy that we have,” Rodriguez said before Wednesday’s game. “It’s one of the greatest things to happen this year.”

The Pirates scored three in the first against Rockies starter Chase Dollander, with two coming on O’Hearn’s homer, then did enough to capitalize after Dollander left with an injury. They added three in the third inning against Rockies relievers Brennan Bernandino and Victor Vodnik to take a 6-0 lead, then largely held on from there.

There were some early-game chess moves from Don Kelly and Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer. Kelly decided to use left-hander Mason Montgomery as an opener for Carmen Mlodzinski, so Schaeffer moved his lefties to the bottom half of the lineup to avoid Montgomery. It worked, but Kelly used Evan Sisk in the second before turning to Mlodzinski in the third.

Mlodzinski threw five solid innings, protecting a multi-run lead. He allowed two runs on four hits and walked three, an area to improve upon, but he kept the Pirates out of jams and prevented the Rockies from any long innings.

Coming out of the bullpen, Mlodzinski wasn’t able to do his typical warmup. He quickly ran out of the bullpen to throw in the outfield as Sisk was warming up for the second.

“It's not easy, honestly. It throws off your routine a little bit,” Mlodzinski said. “Just one of those situations where you've got to just take it pitch by pitch knowing that you might not be able to do the same thing that you would usually do on a start day. ... Just do everything in your power to help the team win the game."

It was over when ...

... Rodriguez hit his two-run single against Vodnik in the third. While the Pirates didn’t tack on much more against the Rockies bullpen, a five-run lead seemed enough if Mlodzinski could limit any damage.

On the mound

Dennis Santana pitched a 1-2-3 eighth before Yohan Ramirez faced the minimum in the ninth. While it’s not yet a turning point, it was a positive that the Pirates bullpen threw four scoreless innings.

“All the guys in the 'pen have had success and they're going to have success,” Kelly said. “It's just getting back into that rhythm, getting back into doing what they do. Hopefully today goes a long way toward that."

At the plate

Oneil Cruz scored the Pirates’ first run. He hit a routine fly ball to left center against Dollander, but left fielder Jordan Beck and center fielder Brenton Doyle let the ball drop between them. Bryan Reynolds singled Cruz in before O’Hearn’s homer.

Konnor Griffin and Jared Triolo both singled twice. Positions 4-9 in the Pirates lineup combined to go 10 for 21 (.476) with three walks and five RBIs.

Most valuable player

O’Hearn. He had been batting .138 in the last eight games entering Wednesday but followed his two-hit night with three more knocks in front of a crowd of 19,101.

He credited the Pirates hitting department for the fix. He said his stance was two inches wider, his hands were slightly closer to his head and his left foot was turned six degrees toward the third base dugout instead of toward the pitcher.

“I was just off,” O’Hearn said before complimenting the Pirates’ staff. “Part of the season, and I’m glad they caught it when they did.”

Up next

The Pirates begin a three-game series with the cross-state Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night at 6:40 p.m.. Braxton Ashcraft (2-2, 2.77 ERA) will start for the Pirates against Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola (2-3, 5.14 ERA).