The San Francisco Giants were playing their own game, just down the steps from the home clubhouse at Oracle Park, but Carlos Rodón and some of his teammates stayed inside. Down the coast, Clayton Kershaw was working on a perfect game for the Los Angeles Dodgers. History was streaming through a laptop.
At least there was the possibility of history, and that was enough to intrigue Rodón, who had come so close to his own slice of it in 2021. Pitching for the Chicago White Sox against Cleveland that April, Rodón retired the first 25 batters before his 0-2 slider nicked the top of Roberto Pérez’s shoe.