Rodriguez (back) struck out four and allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk across four innings Sunday in his rehab start for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.
The right-hander was no match for lower-level minor-league competition, retiring 12 of the 18 batters he faced while pumping in 37 of his 57 pitches for strikes and generating five whiffs. Angels manager Kurt Suzuki previously said that Rodriguez may need just one start in the minors before returning from the 15-day injured list, but unless the right-hander was able to throw another simulated inning after exiting Sunday's outing, he may need another outing in the minors to build upon his 57-pitch workload. The Angels received strong performances from back-end rotation members Ryan Johnson and Sam Aldegheri in their last starts, so the team can probably afford to play it slow with Rodriguez as he works his way back from lower-back tightness.