PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) \u2013 A year after the Pirates drafted catcher Henry Davis first overall, the talk was about another catcher. Now Endy Rodriguez is healthy and made a splash in his first game in the majors in nearly a year Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Rodriguez doubled in his first at bat, had a two-run single in his next and received praise from his teammates after barely playing dealing with an elbow injury for most of two seasons.<\/p>\n
“It went great, it was good to see him back out there,\u201d said pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski. \u201cI know it’s been a little bit of a grind for him with the last few years, with some injuries to his arm. I think at the end of the day, everybody’s just happy he’s back in the big leagues.\u201d <\/p>\n
Then came the comment that, albeit one game back, that made you consider the rest of the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he’s a special player,\u201d Mlodzinski said. \u201cI don’t want to say he’s got swept under the rug a little bit in a sense, but he was, in a sense, a superstar coming up. He’s a special player in my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s awesome, man,\u201d said first-year Pirate Ryan O\u2019Hearn. \u201cI saw him a little bit in spring training and he brings great energy. He showed that today. I\u2019m really happy for Endy, if he can help us out in any way, that\u2019s awesome. Stoked to have him, he had great at bats today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last couple years, as we know, dealing with the injuries and the way that he’s gone through it and gone about it with the attitude that he has, the energy,\u201d said Pirates manager Don Kelly. \u201cHe’s so positive. It’s really cool to see him have that game today. To come up and hit the ground running. Couple hits, played really well defensively, caught the ball well, called a good game.”<\/p>\n