Carlos Rodón, Wilmer Flores help Giants defeat Phillies 5-3 on Sunday

Carlos Rodón and Wilmer Flores made significant contributions that allowed the San Francisco Giants to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 on Sunday. The victory helped the Giants conclude the three-game series with a clean sweep.

Rodón, San Francisco’s starting pitcher, didn’t allow the Phillies to score in the first six innings. He also managed to strike out ten opposing batters while on the mound in those innings. In his last inning, Rodón reportedly nearly allowed the opponents to score but eventually struck out Jean Segura, Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott.

After the game, Rodón told reporters that he was “a little fired up” during his last inning. He complimented the Phillies for compiling some good at-bats that caused them to go deep into the counts.

“I think they made me throw 36 pitches that inning, so I thought they strung together at-bats really well,” Rodón said. Threw a lot of pitches. That's a good lineup. It really is."

Rodón’s strikeout on Segura was his 200th strikeout this season. This record made him the third pitcher in the National League to reach such a mark this year. When asked about the achievement, Rodón said it was “a cool feat” but continued that he wanted to focus on the upcoming games.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler complimented Rodón’s quality to direct “his emotions into his athleticism” when he was pitching. Kapler added, “He might be the best pitcher in baseball during those times. It's just a really elite carry fastball that's a ton of strikes and it's his ability to mix in other pitches as well.”

After Rodón passed the pitching position to John Brebbia who allowed the opponent to score three runs in the seventh inning. Reports said that the Phillies nearly led the game several times but Flores’ two runs in the ninth inning helped San Francisco take control of the game.

Kapler said that Flores managed to “keep his wits” during crucial times. The manager added, “And he just stays cool, calm, and collected and is able to deliver the same sort of approach at the plate in the first inning of a game. And that's what makes him so special."

Giants’ race to playoff

Prior to meeting the Phillies in the series, the Giants had a seven losing-streak and needed 11 games to catch up to win the final National League wild card to the playoffs. After winning over Philadelphia, San Francisco recorded 64-68, finishing third in the NL West.

Rodón also expressed his thoughts about his team’s previous losing streak after Sunday’s game. He said, “We lost seven straight before. It’s nice to still have fans in the stands.”

Their next challenge is facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in another three-game series. The Dodgers who recorded 92-41 are currently No. 1 in the NL West. The probable starting pitcher for the Giants is Logan Webb who has recorded 11-8, placing him in No. 19 in MLB stats.

The last time San Francisco met the Los Angeles team was at the beginning of August when the Dodgers defeated them in all four-game series games. The Giants were also defeated by the Dodgers during the playoffs last season.