 
10/21/2002 00:17 am ET
Rodriguez mesmerizes Giants
By Tom Singer / MLB.com
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Have Francisco Rodriguez and the Rally Monkey ever been spotted at the same place?
Didn't think so.
The cold-blooded Venezuelan right-hander again weaved his magic in Game 2 of the World Series, not only silencing the Giants' racket but inspiring the Angels to a comeback win.
That's the 20-year-old K-Rod's signature, as you know. Shuts down the opposing lineup. Immediately coaxes runs out of his own. Ergo, Rally Pitcher has another postseason victory.
He got No. 5 in the Angels' Series-tying 11-10 victory Sunday night. That's a record for relief wins in one postseason and ties the overall record for most wins -- matching none other than Randy Johnson (2001).
Anaheim Rodriguez's latest act provoked even more sideways glances. "Is this guy for real?" some wondered. Others were ready to call for tests to determine whether they were seeing flesh and bones, or electrodes.
"This is incredible to me," said Rodriguez, himself beginning to be overcome with awe under his calm exterior. "I can't believe this is happening. It feels like I'm dreaming.
"But if I am dreaming, I don't want to wake up."
This was more than a sharp postseason outing by a kid who had virtually no regular-season history.
This was sorcery.
On this night, between the two teams, 11 pitchers worked. Ten of them combined to allow 21 runs and 28 hits.
The 10th, K-Rod, faced nine batters and retired them all, four on strikes. His first 12 pitches were strikes. He threw only four balls out of his total of 26 pitches.
Francisco Rodriguez
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"I was focused. Trying to get the ball down and get ahead in the count," he said. "Then, go right after the guys with my fastball and try to put them away with my breaking ball."
"He's a very confident young man, and he threw the ball outstanding," said Angels pitching coach Bud Black. "And he's humble. He knows he's young."
If you want a measure of this humble, young man, try this: 485 feet.
That's how far Barry Bonds hit one of Troy Percival's pitches in the ninth inning. On his previous at-bat, Bonds could only hit one of Rodriguez's pitches on the ground to first base.
"He's only human," Rodriguez said. "If you make the right pitches and keep the ball down, you can get him out."
OK, so Bonds is human. Can we be sure of K-Rod?
He came on to start the sixth inning, after the Giants had already messed up three Anaheim pitchers and held a 9-8 lead.
"I'm not going to say that it's easy for me, because there are tough situations," Rodriguez said. "They bring me in to try to keep the score the same. We battle, and we score a run, and we win the game."
In the bottom of the sixth, Garret Anderson singled for a run. In the bottom of Rodriguez's last inning, Tim Salmon homered for two.
"For him to keep it right where it was and give us a chance to come back, it was huge," David Eckstein said.
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