What we learned as Roupp struggled in the Giants' loss to the Cardinals

What we learned as Roupp struggled in the Giants' loss to the Cardinals originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX score

SAN FRANCISCO — It was 77 degrees at first pitch Friday night, and early on it seemed like the Giants' red-hot bats had returned from a successful road trip.

San Francisco scored three runs in the second inning, but the St. Louis Cardinals stormed back against rookie Landen Roupp to hand the Giants a 6-3 loss at Oracle Park to open their final series of the 2024 MLB season.

After a shocking 7-2 road trip, the Giants had some hope of finishing on a high note and pushing their record past .500. The best they can do now is to make it exactly 81-81 if they win. Here are three more things you should know…

Strong debut

Roupp's final start of the year fell apart in the fourth inning. He allowed four hits in the inning before departing, and when Lars Nootbar's triple off Taylor Rogers brought in two of Roupp's runners, he had six runs to his name.

That was a season high for the young right-hander and increased his ERA to 3.58, but it was still a very successful rookie season. Roupp wasn't supposed to be on the Opening Day roster, but he pitched so well in Scottsdale that he started the year in the bullpen. The staff has overwhelmed him this month and he allowed just two runs in three starts before Friday's tough outing.

Roupp will come into camp next year as a starter, and given the way he has played this season, he figures to get a chance to earn a spot in the back-end rotation.

Welcome back

Randy Rodriguez missed 37 games due to right elbow inflammation, and a few weeks ago it seemed likely that he would simply miss given the situation the Giants found themselves in. But Rodriguez wanted to bounce back this season, and the Giants wanted him to. As he enters the offseason with confidence in his elbow, they brought him back for this final series.

Rodriguez came on for the sixth time and recorded a flyout and two grounders. His fastball reached a top speed of 97.3 miles per hour. That's slightly less than his previous appearances this season, but given the long layoff and lack of a true rehab appearance, that's not a huge surprise. In a normal offseason, the 25-year-old should have a bullpen job locked down next spring.

Attendance monitoring

The Giants announced an attendance of 35,101, bringing their total to 2,579,060 this season. They surpassed last year's total in the final home stand and have a chance to finish with an increase of around 150,000 fans in 81 games.

The Giants are currently ranked seventh with the largest increase over last year despite only ranking 12th in total fans per game. In a free-spending division, they are well behind the two teams that have secured a spot in the MLB playoffs. The Los Angeles Dodgers rank first in total attendance and the San Diego Padres rank third.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast