Rodón proves again in walk-off win why Giants must retain him

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Carlos Rodón deserved better in the Giants' 5-3 walk-off win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday at Oracle Park.

The All-Star lefty struck out 10 Phillies batters in six shutout innings but had to watch as John Brebbia coughed up the lead in the eighth inning as catcher J.T. Realmuto crushed a game-tying three-run homer.

But luckily for Rodón and Brebbia, Wilmer Flores came through with a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, allowing the Giants to sweep the three-game series against the Phillies.

Rodón ended up taking a no-decision, but he did his part and then some in his 27th start of the season. He reached double-digit strikeouts for the ninth time this season, tying Tim Lincecum and Jason Schmidt for the most in a single season in Giants history.

Rodón's ninth strikeout of the day was his 200th of the season, the first time he has reached that mark in his eight-year MLB career.

The 29-year-old entered Sunday's start with a 3.03 ERA, but his dominant outing against the Phillies lowered it to 2.92 -- and he still has a few more starts this season to try to keep his ERA under 3.00.

Rodón has the ability to opt out of the second year of his contract with the Giants this winter, and it's expected that he will exercise that option to pass up on $22.5 million for the 2023 MLB season to test the free-agent market in search of a bigger deal.

It's clear Rodón has thrived with the Giants, who will need to add at least one starting pitcher in the offseason -- assuming Rodón opts out -- so it makes sense for the two sides to come together on a long-term contract after the season.

RELATED: Krukow believes Rodon "wants to stay" with Giants

Flores provided the walk-off heroics, but Rodón's outstanding performance was a big reason why the Giants won their third game in a row.

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