13-year minor league veteran Rodriguez gets 1st MLB hits

ARLINGTON, Texas — Not only did 31-year-old rookie Guilder Rodriguez get his first major league hit Monday night, but the third baseman also picked up his first game-winning RBI.

Rodriguez drove home the go-ahead run in the Texas Rangers’ 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game series at Globe Life Park. The seventh-inning drive glanced off the glove of leaping shortstop Jonathan Villar to break a 3-3 tie.

Rodriguez’s wife and father were at the game.

“I was very excited to see my dad in the stands for my first RBI, my first big league base hit,” Rodriguez said.

The Rangers (63-93) have won nine of their last 10 games, and are assured of not losing 100 games this season. Houston (69-88) had already ended a run of three consecutive seasons of triple-digit losses.

The state’s two franchises are playing out the string with interim managers and an eye on next season. Plenty of potential prospects are gaining valuable playing time that each front office hopes can pay dividends in 2015 and beyond.

The acting skippers are also looking to make an impression, and so far the early returns are promising. Texas’ Tim Bogar and Houston’s Tom Lawless each own winning records for clubs woefully under .500.

Rodriguez is in the big leagues after logging 1,095 minor league games over 13 years, which was the most among active players with no major league experience. He was also the fourth-oldest American League position player to make his major league debut over the last 44 seasons.

After starting his career 0-for-6 at the plate, Rodriguez logged his first hit in the third inning with a single to left off Houston starter Nick Tropeano. The game-winning hit came with two outs, bringing right fielder Jake Smolinski home and making a winner out of Texas starter Derek Holland.

“The word was ‘special’ for me,” Bogar said when asked about Rodriguez’s night. “When he got his first hit it was hard not to cry looking at his dad. It was pretty special that he had a chance to do it in front of his dad. Then the second hit that gave us the lead is kind of storybook for us.

“His teammates were pretty fired up for him. To look over there and see his dad crying is pretty good.”

Even the Astros got caught up in the feel-good story of the night.

“I guarantee it’s a thrill for him to be up here,” Lawless said. “To put all that time in the minor leagues and keep playing and playing and playing, a lot of guys would give up. That’s one thing about baseball, you never give up. You just never know. You might get the chance, because your dream as a little kid is to do what? Play major league baseball. And there he is.”

Holland (2-0) went seven-plus innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits. Texas closer Neftali Feliz picked up his 12th save. Tropeano (1-2) allowed all four Texas runs over 6 2/3 innings.

“Overall I felt good,” Tropeano said. “I felt my command was a little bit better today than it has been in the past.”

The Astros rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game against Holland. After getting on the board in the fifth, Houston added a pair of runs in the sixth.

Second baseman Jose Altuve cut the Rangers’ lead to 3-2 with a double to drive in Villar. Left fielder Robbie Grossman trotted home to knot the contest on first baseman’s Chris Carter’s sacrifice fly.

The Rangers jumped on Tropeano in the third inning, taking a 3-0 lead on second baseman Rougned Odor’s two-out, bases-loaded triple into the left-center-field gap. The drive plated catcher Robinson Chirinos, Rodriguez and center fielder Leonys Martin.

The three-run cushion was a welcome sight for Holland, who’s received sparse run support in his previous four starts since coming off the disabled list. Holland allowed a run in the fifth on third baseman Matt Dominguez’s squibber that scored Marisnick.

NOTES: Houston already won the season series against Texas, with an 11-6 record after losing the opener of the three-game set. The Astros hadn’t won a season series against their Lone Star State rivals since 2006. … Houston 2B Jose Altuve went into Monday with a club record 220 hits, also the most by a second baseman since Detroit’s Charlie Gehringer had 227 in 1936. Altuve got one hit Monday to raise his total to 221. … Texas won two consecutive games when scoring exactly two runs after going 2-24 in the first 26 games this season in such cases. … Research indicates that outfielder Ryan Rua is the first batter in Texas history whose first major league homer was a go-ahead shot in the ninth inning or later. He hit the game-winning blast Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels.