PITTSBURGH (AP) — Carlos Rodón walked off the mound and into the San Francisco Giants dugout after eight nearly spotless innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night prepared for a conversation about whether he’d get a chance at walking back onto the field for the ninth.
Earlier in his career, Rodón admits he might have dug in his heels and pleaded his case. Those days are over, the byproduct of wisdom gleaned from too many trips to the operating room.
So when San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler turned to closer Camilo Doval to get the final three outs, Rodón nodded his head and then watched the flamethrowing 24-year-old finish out a 2-0 victory that handed the surging Giants their sixth win in seven games.
Would Rodón have liked a shot at picking up his first shutout since April 2021? Of course. But there’s another start against World Series champion Atlanta looming next week, then hopefully another 15 or more after that. It’s a long season. Rodón is rolling. His team is, too. So why push it?
“My younger self would have been, ‘I want to go back out,’” Rodón (6-4) said after limiting the Pirates to two hits. “But (the season) is a marathon. I’m throwing again in five days. I want to be ready for five days from now when I have to face Atlanta.”
Rodón certainly looks ready after breezing through a Pittsburgh lineup that ranks near the bottom in the National League in nearly every offensive category. Rodón needed just 98 pitches to get 24 outs. He needed the same total to get through just four innings in a loss to Philadelphia on June 7 and six innings in a victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers last Sunday.
“As crazy as it sounds, for him to be striking everybody out and running really deep counts and a ton of foul balls, it’s going to be more difficult for him…
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