The high hopes for Lotte Giants’ right-handed pitcher Elvin Rodriguez (28) were shattered on May 12 at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan. Taking the mound as the starter against the NC Dinos in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League, Rodriguez struggled, allowing 6 hits, 4 walks, 2 hit-by-pitches, and 5 earned runs over just 4⅔ innings, throwing 103 pitches. The Giants fell 1-8, saddling Rodriguez with the loss.
Rodriguez had made a solid landing in the KBO League after joining the Giants this season. He took the ball as the No. 1 starter on Opening Day, March 28 against the Samsung Lions, tossing 5 innings of 2-hit, 5-walk, 4-strikeout, scoreless ball to earn a victory in his Korean debut. After a rough outing on April 3 (4 IP, 9 hits, 5 BB, 1 HBP, 8 ER) that gave him his first loss, he bounced back spectacularly on April 10 against the Kiwoom Heroes, firing 8 innings of 4-hit, 1-run ball with zero walks and 11 strikeouts for his second win. He then delivered mixed results: 5 IP, 3 ER on April 16 (no decision), 6 IP, 1 ER on April 23 (win), 6.1 IP, 3 ER on April 29 (quality start, no decision). However, on May 5 against KT, he struggled again with 5 IP, 4 ER, continuing a pattern of inconsistency.
In the May 12 game, Rodriguez started well, striking out Kim Joo-won and getting Han Seok-hyun to fly out in the first, though he hit Park Min-woo before retiring Oh Young-soo on a strikeout-tagout. In the second, he struck out Park Geon-woo, allowed a single to Lee Woo-sung, but got a groundout and a strikeout to escape. The third inning brought trouble: after a flyout Kim Joo-won doubled and Han Seok-hyun drove him in with a single to make it 1-0. Rodriguez then struck out Park Min-woo, but a wild pitch and a walk to Oh Young-soo left runners on second and third before he struck out Park Geon-woo to end the inning. The fourth inning saw more damage: after Lee Woo-sung grounded out, walks to Seo Ho-cheol, Kim Hyung-jun, and Park Si-won loaded the bases with two outs. A bases-loaded walk to Kim Joo-won pushed the score to 2-0, and a two-run single by Park Min-woo made it 4-0. Rodriguez finally got out of the inning on a grounder. He tried to continue in the fifth, but a leadoff double by Park Geon-woo and an RBI single by Lee Woo-sung made it 5-0. After a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout-tagout, the Giants pulled him for Jung Hyun-soo, who finished the inning.
With the heavy responsibility of being the team’s ace, Rodriguez has failed to show the consistency needed for the role. Through eight starts and 44 innings, his record stands at 3 wins, 2 losses, and a 5.11 ERA, a far cry from the dominance he flashed in that 8-inning, 11-strikeout gem.
