Carlos Rodón's stellar start to the 2022 MLB season has taken an abrupt turn for the worse.
After starting the year with six straight strong outings, Rodón took his third straight loss as the Giants fell to the Cincinnati Reds 5-1 on Friday night at Great American Ball Park.
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SIGN UP HERE Rodón allowed seven hits and three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out just two Reds batters. After beginning the season with a 1.80 ERA through his first six starts, his ERA has doubled to 3.60.
The Reds scored two runs off Rodón in the bottom of the third and Brandon Drury tacked on a third run with a solo homer in the fifth inning.
The Giants finally got on the board in the top of the eighth when Joc Pederson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing in a run.
The day started off in an odd way for the Giants and Reds when Pederson and Tommy Pham got into an altercation a few hours before first pitch. The Athletic reported that Pham slapped Pederson over a dispute related to a fantasy football league they both are in.
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Gabe Kapler told reporters before the game that MLB was investigating the incident, and while all that was happening, rain in the area caused a delay that lasted over two hours.
Because of the length of the rain delay, the Reds were forced to hold a pregame fireworks show due to local noise ordinances.
When the game finally started, Pederson remained in the lineup, but the Reds removed Pham from their lineup as the league's investigation continued.
The Pederson-Pham spat wasn't the only strange moment of the day.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Kapler called on Jake McGee, who had been activated from the Injured List earlier in the day. There was one problem. McGee wasn't on the lineup card given to the Reds or the umpires.
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McGee wasn't allowed to pitch in the game and Jose Alvarez had to come on to pitch the eighth inning. Cincinnati padded their lead with two more runs off Alvarez.
After winning the last two games of the homestand against the Mets, the Giants started the road trip on a sour note. They'll look to bounce back Saturday in the second contest of the three-game set.
