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No one could say much to Carlos Rodon after the frustrated pitcher inadvertently hit his teammate with a baseball bat during the fifth inning when he kicked it in the dugout of the San Francisco Giants’ 7-3 loss against the Arizona Diamondbacks — he was already plenty unhappy with himself after the game.
Rodon had let the frustrations of what would be the Giant’s sixth straight loss get to him when he slammed his glove into the dugout bench in the second inning after giving up a two-run homer, but later in the fifth it was more than the equipment that caught his wrath.
“Came in, kicked a bat — unacceptable action,” he said in the dugout after hitting shortstop Thairo Estrada in the leg. “Hit my teammate, probably the nicest teammate on our team, and just a selfish action that is unacceptable and cannot happen, and I take all the [responsibility], I take every amount of it. Just cannot happen. I just feel stupid, really stupid.”
San Francisco Giants shortstop Thairo Estrada throws to first base as Giants third baseman David Villar, right, backs up the play during the seventh inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks, July 26, 2022, in Phoenix, Arizona.
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Rodon expressed his remorse for the outburst almost immediately as Estrada bent over to grab what appeared to be his shin.
“You saw the difference in emotion instantly, and I just feel really dumb.”
Rodon explained that his temper got the best of him — something that’s been building for some time.
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“I just held on to the frustration from the two innings prior, and it’s just not the right way to go about it, that’s for sure,” he said. “The last two starts have not gone great and we haven’t played great, and I today I wanted to come out and get a win for the boys, and it totally shot back and I did something even stupider.”
San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Carlos Rodon (16) walks around the mound after giving up a three-run home run to Arizona Diamondbacks’ Christian Walker, left, during the third inning of a game on July 26, 2022, in Phoenix, Arizona.
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
He continued: “Just angry, angry with myself, and I made a selfish action and kicked a bat that had no reason to be kicked. Bat didn’t do nothing, Thairo didn’t do nothing and, if anything, I should be hitting myself.”
Manager Gabe Kapler agreed with his ace pitcher.
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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Carlos Rodon throws a pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning, July 26, 2022, in Phoenix, Arizona.
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
“You saw that right away,” Kapler said. “Carlos feels terrible, he knows it’s unacceptable. These are his teammates, and if he’s not able to maintain control, somebody can get hurt. … We’re going to work on ways for him to be in control in those situations.”
The Diamondbacks won for the fifth time in eight games against the Giants this season and San Francisco, which won 107 games a year ago, fell below .500 for the first time this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.