In hindsight, Dereck Rodríguez’s sensational first inning should have been a red flag.
Rodríguez set down the side in nearly as efficient a manner as is possible. Manuel Margot only wanted to watch one pitch before he started swinging, grounding out on the second pitch of the game. Josh Naylor was even less patient, sending the first pitch he saw against the shift for a single. And Manny Machado shared Naylor’s approach, hitting a weak comebacker on the first pitch for an easy double play.
Just like that, the inning was over, on a mere four pitches.