Entering Sunday, Carlos Rodón had the third-longest active homerless streak in baseball. He was one of four pitchers ever to get through six starts with at least 53 strikeouts and no home runs allowed. The power-pitching lefty hadn’t allowed a single first-pitch hit all season.
In one inning, the Cardinals lineup put all those glossy achievements on a tombstone. Then they ejected him from the game shortly after.
Rodón’s worst start in a Giants uniform sunk the club in their seventh meeting of the season with the Cardinals. The power-pitching lefty allowed a season-high eight runs on a season-high 10 hits. He lasted just 3.2 innings and left San Francisco (20-14) picking up the pieces of a blowout that ended with Albert Pujols pitching in a 15-6 Cardinals win.
It was a stunning turn for Rodón, who had previously been just about flawless to start his tenure with the Giants. Most of the damage happened right away in the first inning.
Tommy Edman led off with a single, then scored moments later on a Paul Goldschmidt home run. The first baseman drilled a low and inside fastball — Rodón’s best pitch — 405 feet for a home run. Juan Yepez followed the first homer allowed by Rodón with a single. He and Albert Pujols, who doubled, scored on a Yadier Molina single.
Goldschmidt’s, Pujols’ and Molina’s hits each came on the first Rodón pitch they saw. The aggressiveness early in counts made it look like the Cardinals knew what was coming.
Rodón’s fastball ticked up in velocity, but never completely settled in. He threw more sliders than usual, but couldn’t locate it down in the zone with consistency.
St. Louis tagged Rodón for another run in the third inning then chased him out of the game in the fourth.
Fourth-inning hits from Dylan Carlson and Edmundo Sosa pushed St. Louis’ lead to 6-0. A double from Goldschmidt slammed the door on SF’s starter and a home run from Nolan Arenado off reliever Zack Littell uglied his statline even more.
Arenado’s two-run shot was his 33rd career home run against the Giants — most among active players. Goldschmidt is second on the list with 28. The current Cardinals lineup is the stuff of nightmares for Giants fans — and for Rodón, whose ERA ballooned from 1.80 to 3.49.
The Cardinals only continued to pile up runs against San Francisco’s bullpen. The only serious positive moment for the Giants to remember was Joc Pederson breaking his 1-for-30 slump with a two-run home run — his seventh of the year and first since injuring his groin.
But even Pederson’s shot hardly put a dent into the Cardinals’ lead. By the time it was 14-2 in the seventh inning, Luis González became the first Giants position player pitcher of the year. Then Pujols matched him with his first career pitching appearance.
The Giants’ dud on Sunday was the seventh meeting between the Giants and Cardinals of the year — and the final of the regular season. The clubs split their first four-game series and traded wins in the first two tilts in Busch Stadium. They were neck-and-neck, with an aggregate score of 28-26 in favor of San Francisco.
This Game 7 didn’t have nearly the stakes as the NHL and NBA Game 7s from this weekend. But it did decide a season series, which the Cardinals skipped away with.