PHILADELPHIA — Carlos Rodón is hardly counting as his strikeouts pile up, even as the comparisons to Tim Lincecum keep coming.
Rodón reached the 200-strikeout mark for the first time in his career, then watched as Wilmer Flores hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning to send the San Francisco Giants over the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 on Sunday for a three-game sweep.
The wild card-contending Phillies lost for the sixth time in seven games, wrapping up their weeklong trip to Arizona and San Francisco. Monday will mark the club’s first Labor Day off in 24 years, since 1998.
Yes, Rodón saw the scoreboard flash with the recognition of his 200 Ks. He struck out 10 over six scoreless innings.
“I’ve never done it, it’s a cool feat,” Rodón said, “but there’s a handful of games left so just keep going.”
He also tied two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Lincecum and Jason Schmidt for most double-digit strikeout performances over a single season in franchise history with nine.
Rookie Bryce Johnson, who got his first major league hit and RBI earlier in the game, drew a leadoff walk in the Giants ninth. David Robertson (3-2) struck out the next two batters before Flores hit his 17th home run.
J.T. Realmuto hit a tying, three-run homer in the Phillies eighth. Camilo Doval (5-6) pitched the ninth.
San Francisco had a chance in the eighth. LaMonte Wade Jr. singled with two outs off Robertson and Brandon Crawford walked to load the bases, but pinch-hitter Evan Longoria struck out swinging.
Wade broke up a scoreless game with a single in the fourth. Johnson's RBI single capped a three-run inning, but the Giants bullpen couldn’t hold a 3-0 lead once Rodón exited.
Rodón bounced back from his first defeat in more than a month last Monday against San Diego. His nine double-digit strikeout games this season are a career best and match Angels star Shohei Ohtani for most in the majors.
“It doesn’t really tell the story of how good a player is but it certainly tells the story of how durable a player is,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “And Carlos inching towards the finish line, that complete season is really, you can see it, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And this is an indication that he’s really had a durable and consistent and very impressive overall season.”
The right-hander allowed five hits and walked two as San Francisco won its third straight following a seven-game losing streak. He heard the crowd support when he got through a tough sixth.
“We lost seven straight before,” the All-Star pitcher said. “It’s nice to still have fans in the stands.”
Realmuto connected for his 15th homer after the Phillies rallied against John Brebbia. Alec Bohm and Bryce Harper hit consecutive one-out singles.
Ranger Suárez was done after four innings for the Phillies and saw his winless stretch reach five starts since beating the Nationals on Aug. 6.
