Rodriguez allowed one hit and struck out two across a scoreless inning to record a hold Thursday against the Guardians.
The right-hander has seen plenty of high-leverage usage since rejoining the Rays bullpen just before the All-Star break, so he was viewed as a logical candidate to get save chances when Pete Fairbanks (lat) hit the injured list. However, Rodriguez hasn't gotten a save chance in his last seven appearances, while Thursday's hold was his first in that span. He's pitched well since Fairbanks was sidelined, posting a 2.53 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 9:2 K:BB over his last 10.2 innings, but manager Kevin Cash's matchup-based approach seems to have cut Rodriguez out of the closer mix.