Eduardo Rodriguez joins shortlist of Venezuelan pitchers with 100 career wins

PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez posed with the baseball and the scorecard of Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels, as he earned the 100th win of his big league career.

Rodriguez became the ninth Venezuelan-born pitcher to reach the century mark:

1. Felix Hernandez (169)
2. Freddy Garcia (156)
3. Johan Santana (139)
4. Carlos Zambrano (132)
5. Anibal Sanchez (116)
6. Carlos Carrasco (112)
7. Wilson Alvarez (102)
8. Kelvim Escobar (101)
9. Eduardo Rodriguez (100)

Eduardo is the moment. pic.twitter.com/Sv4qUYlePU

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 17, 2026

“It feels great … getting to 100 wins is something that I wanted to accomplish,” Rodriguez said. “Especially for my country … there is not too many of them, and being part of that is just something special for me.”

Rodriguez delivered seven innings with one earned run on Wednesday, as the Diamondbacks ran away with an 8-1 victory.

After two disappointing seasons, the veteran southpaw has become the ace of Arizona’s staff this year, or at least the 1A to Michael Soroka’s 1B.

Baseball fans are more split on wins as a means to evaluate pitchers in today’s game, in large part due to the incredible number of metrics available. Wins are a team stat, but reaching 100 tells a story about Rodriguez’s longevity and success throughout his career, which started in 2015 with the Boston Red Sox.

Joining a shortlist with his countrymen was a meaningful element of this milestone, and Rodriguez shared that sentiment with his teammates during the postgame celebration.

This season started with Rodriguez pitching for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, working with Santana, his childhood hero and the national team’s pitching coach.

“I get the opportunity to be there with all those names, all those guys that I think I know half of them, and I’m proud to be part of the group,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez secured the lion’s share of his wins with Boston (64), but he has matched his Detroit Tigers total in Arizona during this breakthrough campaign (18).

Rodriguez should receive All-Star consideration, as he ranks fifth in the National League in ERA among qualified starters at 2.45 and fourth in innings at 88.1. He has not made a Midsummer Classic before.

When asked about the All-Star Game, Rodriguez said his focus was solely on helping the Diamondbacks win, saying making the team was out of his control.

It will be tough given the dominant pitching performances in the NL from the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Jacob Misiorowski and Cristopher Sanchez, but Rodriguez can continue to make a push with starts like Wednesday’s.

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