PHOENIX - Carlos Rodón tried to be the stopper, the pitcher who ended the losing streak, the man who put the San Francisco Giants in the win column for the first time since July 17.
Instead, the lasting impressions of Rodón on Tuesday weren’t pleasant: turning to watch two baseballs fly over the left-field wall, repeatedly pounding a glove to the back of the Giants’ dugout and — ugliest of all — kicking a bat that drilled teammate Thairo Estrada in the leg and ticked off Wilmer Flores.
Rodón expressed his frustration many times during a 7-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, confirmation that all is not well with this team. The Giants took their sixth straight loss and fell below .500 (48-49) for the first time since early 2021.
“Came in, kicked a bat. Unacceptable action. Hit my teammate. Probably the nicest teammate on our team,” Rodón said. “Just a selfish action that is unacceptable and cannot happen. I take every amount of it. It just cannot happen. I just feel stupid.”
It’s an unhappy time in Giantsville and another new low. With next Tuesday’s trade deadline coming, it’s fair to wonder if the front office would listen to offers for Rodón, whose contract permits him to opt out after the season and become a free agent.
Rodón has one more scheduled start before the deadline, Sunday against the Cubs. Will that be his final start in a Giants uniform? Was Tuesday’s? If he becomes available, Farhan Zaidi would be a popular president of baseball operations throughout the industry.
Rodón surrendered two home runs in the first three innings. In his previous 19 starts, he gave up just five. Sergio Alcantara hit a two-run shot in the second, Christian Walker a three-run blow in the third.
Rodón returned to the dugout after the second inning and slammed his glove on top of the dugout bench, accidentally striking pitching coach Andrew Bailey on the head; Bailey had just patted him on the back.
Rodón immediately bent over to check on Estrada while Flores raised both arms as if to say, “What are you doing, dude?” Flores visibly was upset with Rodón and had a quick exchange with the All-Star pitcher.
“Just angry. Angry with myself,” Rodón said. “Kicked a bat that had no reason to be kicked. Bat didn’t do nothing. Thairo didn’t do nothing. If anything, I should be hitting myself. Stupid.”
Rodón, Estrada and Flores have lockers together on one side of the visitors’ clubhouse at Chase Field. Curiously, Flores said he did not talk it out with Rodón afterward nor did he say it was important for the team to address the matter.
“I don't think we have to,” Flores said. “Individually, everyone knows what's right.”
Estrada said Rodón apologized, but Estrada didn't want to talk about the matter further including his reaction to getting hit or Flores coming to his defense.
“Don’t have anything to say," Estrada said through interpreter Erwin Higueros.
Cameras captured both of Rodón’s dugout episodes. He was more in control of himself on the mound and gave up just one hit beyond the homers, and he struck out 10 batters in six innings. He even magically caught a ball that ricocheted off his leg and landed in his glove.
But the homers, and what preceded the homers (two walks and a hit batsman), are what prompted the lefty to lose his temper in the dugout.
“We haven’t played great, and today I wanted to come out and get a win for the boys,” Rodón said. “Totally shot back, and I did something even stupider.”
Entering the game, nobody was harder to homer against than Rodón. His 0.41 homers per nine innings was best in the majors.
Alcantara’s homer, his third, barely cleared the wall and a couple of fans reaching for the ball, and a video review confirmed it was legit. Darin Ruf tracked it to the wall but bumped up against it and didn’t get a chance to leap.
Walker’s homer, his 23rd, was a no-doubter. Just like the game’s outcome. Just to make sure, Yunior Marte coughed up a couple of runs in the eighth.
Kapler’s take: Anger management has been an issue with Rodón, and manager Gabe Kapler said sometimes when the pitcher demonstrates anger, it’s “probably a little over the top.”
“We’re going to work on it,” Kapler said. “We’re going to work on ways for him to be in control in those situations. It doesn’t mean he’s not going to show emotion. That’s totally fine. It’s part of the game. Being angry about an outing or a specific event in an outing, totally fine.
“But when teammates and coaches are at risk, it just can’t happen. We discussed it. We’re going to work through it. We’re going to support him through it.”
No offense: Two games into a three-game series against a last-place team, the Giants have scored just three runs, two coming on Flores’ third-inning homer that tied the score 2-2.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Flores said. “I think as hitters, we’re going out of the strike zone a little bit. I mean, if we don’t hit, we don’t win. Period. We have to take better at-bats.”
Catcher Joey Bart exited after three at-bats because he was sick and vomiting. Kapler said Bart asked to remain in the game, but “I looked at him, and he was pretty ghost white.” Bart was replaced in the seventh inning by Austin Wynns.
John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle’s national baseball writer. Email: jshea@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnSheaHey
"lose" - Google News
July 27, 2022 at 11:55AM
https://ift.tt/A0u1srX
Giants lose again, Carlos Rodón shows frustration in dugout incidents - San Francisco Chronicle
"lose" - Google News
https://ift.tt/IT87v9h https://ift.tt/JAIk2ig
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Giants lose again, Carlos Rodón shows frustration in dugout incidents - San Francisco Chronicle"
Post a Comment