Cleveland — Eduardo Rodriguez’s postgame press conferences are getting a bit redundant. It’s hard, after all, to come up with new ways to ask about his consistent brilliance.
“I hope you keep asking me that for the whole year,” Rodriguez said with a laugh, after he blanked the Cleveland Guardians for seven innings in the Tigers’ series-clinching 5-0 win Wednesday at Progressive Field. “That’s how I know I’m pitching good.
“For me, just keep putting up zeros on the board. I don’t think about how many games I’ve been pitching good. Just keep doing it.”
Rodriguez has limited opponents to one run or less in six straight starts, the second-best stretch by a Tigers starter since Michael Fulmer did the same in 2016. Justin Verlander went seven straight games allowing a run or less in 2011.
Rodriguez has allowed two runs in his last 41.2 innings with 41 strikeouts and six walks.
“He’s incredible,” center fielder Riley Greene. “He’s not missing his spots. When he’s on the mound, it’s just a different presence out there.”
It’s the fourth time this season Rodriguez has pitched at least seven innings of shutout ball, twice against the Guardians, who haven’t scored a run in 15 innings against him. They mustered four hits Wednesday, and only one left the infield.
“I’m just thinking about throwing strikes,” said Rodriguez, who improved to 3-2 this season.
BOX SCORE: Tigers 5, Guardians 0
He didn’t stray far from the formula Wednesday, though he did throw 11 straight four-seam fastballs to start his outing. It was reminiscent of his start in spring training against the Phillies, when he called his own pitches with the PitchCom and threw 16 straight fastballs.
“No, he’s been going right along with (catcher Jake) Rogers,” manager AJ Hinch said. “When he can throw it where he wants to like he has, he can be really stubborn with his fastball — which is good. But, there was a little bit of a flashback there.”
As he settled in, Rodriguez fed the Guardians his usual smartly-located mix of four-seamers, cutters and changeups.
“Whatever pitch I use, whatever inning it’s in, if it’s getting guys out, I’m going to keep using it,” Rodriguez said. “That’s what you saw with my fastball in the first inning.”
He got six swinging strikes and 13 called strikes with his fastball. The changeup was his secondary weapon of choice against the eight right-handed hitters in the Cleveland lineup. He got five swinging strikes with it and a lot of soft contact (five balls in play, average exit velocity of 76 mph).
“I feel like I can use all my pitches right now,” he said. “The changeup was great today.”
He had one stressful inning, and it was self-inflicted. He walked Josh Bell and David Fry with two outs. Mike Freeman’s infield single loaded the bases.
“The only way they’re going to get back in the game is for something big to happen,” Hinch said. “The big swing is what you are trying to avoid. It was going to be hard for them to chip away at Eduardo the way he was throwing.”
After a visit from pitching coach Chris Fetter, Rodriguez locked back in and got a called third strike on Mike Zunino, one of his three punchouts of Zunino.
“There was a little collective sigh of relief,” Hinch said.
The sigh of relief for the offense came after just three batters. The Tigers had left 12 runners on base in a 2-0 loss Tuesday night.
“Every day is a new day,” Greene said. “We try not to harp on the past. We just come in the next day ready to go.”
Against right-hander Peyton Battenfield, Zach McKinstry smacked a single on the first pitch of the game and advanced to second on a passed ball. Javier Báez followed with a single, equaling the number of hits they got with runners in scoring position in 15 plate appearances Tuesday.
McKinstry stopped at third but scored a few pitches later on a ground ball by Greene. Andy Ibanez followed with a two-out RBI double, and the Tigers were on their way.
“When you have Eduardo on the mound, you feel pretty good when you get some runs early,” Hinch said. “Then, we tacked on some runs and it was like, just hand the ball to Eduardo and say, ‘You do the rest.'”
By the end of the third inning, the Tigers produced four hits in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position, worth five runs.
In the third, Báez ripped a two-strike double into the left-center gap. Torkelson and Ibanez followed with two-out, RBI singles and Akil Baddoo plated two runs with a double. The second run scored on an errant throw by right-fielder Gabriel Arias.
Ballgame.
“The hardest thing to do at this level is to continue positive performance, especially when you are being talked about,” Hinch said. “He’s getting some recognition now; everybody is talking to him. But, he continues to go out with a very strong mindset. That, to me, is encouraging.”
The Tigers have won six of their last eight series and come home for a weekend series against the Mariners with a 17-19 record.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky